Whispers to the Moon
by White Wolf Fan Fiction
Summary: This is an Avengers Omega-Verse Collection of Ficlets and will contain multiple pairings including: Stony, Thorki, Clint/Bruce, Natasha/Pepper, possible oc pairings, and possibly pseudo/brotp Clintasha. Ficlet information will be inside, but I warn you now: there are oc's in this and one oc in particular that is featured more-so than not as the main character. (Marked as complete.)
1. Happiness

White Wolf Fan Fiction Presents:

~Whispers to the Moon~

An Avengers Collection

* * *

 **Title:** Whispers to the Moon

 **Pairings:** Steve/Tony; Thor/Loki; Natasha/Pepper; Bruce/Clint; Logan/Remy from X-Men; and possible oc pairings later with Lionel or Mark or Freya and other oc's (Lionel and Drake confirmed).

 **Disclaimer:** I own Lionel, my ex-friend owns Mark though I have permission to use him, and my best friend Amber owns Freya though I may or may not have created her for her. I don't own the Avengers or Ultron, nor do I own Remy and Logan from X-Men. I do own the base idea for the collection of fics/ficlets/drabbles.

 **A/N:** These are not really in any particular order, they're just written randomly and as I come up with things to write for the words I'm given. None of these will probably be related to another and if they are, I might mention so in the summary.

 **A/N 2:** Disregard that first A/N... because as it turns out, these kind of are written in order, I've noticed. Because uh... I'm kind of going along with the seasons, heh... oops?

-0-

 **Words:** 18,929

 **Rating:** T+

 **Warnings:** Yaoi (Boy Love), Yuri (Girl Love), minor angst, major hurt/comfort, tooth-aching fluff, minor humor, mentions of past death and minor hints to torture.

 **Summary:** Lionel had never experienced true happiness before, in the span of his short life. From the second he was created to every year that followed, he had been alone and broken. And though he's still broken, it becomes a little more bearable as he finds and meets the wolves he's come to depend on and call his family.

* * *

He'd felt anger, fear, loss, hopelessness, confusion, triumph, emotions he couldn't even name and emotions he refused to name. He'd felt everything… except for happiness. And he wondered for a long time what it felt like and if he would ever experience it; he even wondered if it was even worth it. And the moment he finally experiences it, finally experiences true happiness, he decides that the answer is yes. It was worth every second of every minute of his twenty years spent alone and lost. And yeah, he was still broken, but he can overlook that, if only just to keep what he felt truly close to his heart and experience it for the rest of his life.

-0-

When Lionel had been a young pup, he'd been all alone in the world; he had been small, broken, abandoned, alone… he'd had to fight tooth and nail for food and warmth and never had been able to win. So he'd stayed alone, unable to fend for himself, to feed himself and keep himself warm; and for years he was slowly dying. Because no one had wanted him. seeing and knowing of how broken he was: born and created in a lab run by a mad scientist who had been killed years later by his very creation. Lionel had never killed again after that; he had never used his powers, his strength or his ability to shift and take the form of another creature at his will, for anything else.

So he had to adapt for his survival: he began to use the shadows to his advantage, concealing his black and white striped fur and his small form. He stole, at first for survival, any coin and food he could find, before eventually he had adapted well enough that he stole things for fun; little things, of course, though, but he thrived on the thrill it gave him, making him feel like he was stronger than everyone else.

But the shadows could only hide so much from others: his eyes, for example, as red as blood stood out and many, mostly humans, shied away from him in fear or distrust and anger or disgust. And he hated it. Hated how it made him feel like he didn't belong, like he was worthless and nothing but a disgusting vermin. It made him feel… like he was a demon.

So he ran. He ran from his home, away from the town he'd been born in and he ran for years until he was found, somehow, by an organization called Shield. Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, they had said. Even to this day, he didn't know what that meant, but he found out what they did: they took care of people like him, with special abilities and they controlled them and made sure no harm came from them or to them. And they 'caged' him, and forced him to use his abilities for things he didn't want to do, to capture other wolves and even humans like him, other Supers and Mutants.

The only difference this time to when he last felt he had been caged, he couldn't kill the one who controlled him. He couldn't kill Fury because he had promised himself he wouldn't kill again, even if he didn't even remember anything but the anger and the fear and the hurt when he had killed his creator.

So he stayed and did what he was told, but he refused to be completely tamed and he did the only thing he could do, when he wasn't watched in the rare moments he could sneak away and it would only be him. He ran and ran for miles around the city, knowing he could never leave, but that never stopped him even as he got to the old forest that surrounded the city and he continued to run even as he'd unconsciously shifted into his true form. His small, sleek, black and white form running through the woods without abandon, as silent as a mouse.

That was the first night he had met Freya Calhoun, the most beautiful wolf he'd ever laid his eyes upon, and when he saw her, he was struck speechless by her sleek form and soft aura. She saw him before he saw her, and yet, she had not attacked him, not like other wolves had before, because of the way he smelled. Instead, she was curious about him, though she spoke not a word the first time and when he had regained his senses, he left as quick as he'd come, back to Shield and back to Fury.

The second time he'd seen her, was several days after their first encounter and near a river this time, and she still took his breath away. He stood there dumbly for several moments before letting out a small noise in shock and embarrassment when she spoke, her voice just as beautiful as the rest of her, _"Are you going to stand there staring at me all night, or are you going to come and say hi this time without running away?"_ she chuckled and he opened and closed his mouth several times before he ducked his head, ears lowered in further embarrassment and shame.

 _"I… I'm sorry…"_ he murmured, looking down and away before looking back up. _"I… I've never seen such a beautiful wolf like… like you…"_ he added and this time it was her turn to be embarrassed as she turned away, her tail twitching nervously.

 _"Thank you,"_ she answered easily enough though and shifted over in an offering for a drink, even though there was plenty of space along the river bed for him to drink from.

They had met again and again for several nights and Lionel had found out then that he'd not only found a beautiful wolf who had treated him so normal, but he also found a sister, who would protect him and comfort him without a second thought given any longer.

He'd stayed for at Shield for several months before he had finally met one Natasha Romanov, and a young omega like him that he'd not caught the name of. He'd found out they both worked for Shield directly as assassins for hire and as agents who diligently did their jobs without question. And he despised them for it, but it had been hard to hate them when they had finally been the only ones to treat him like he belonged at Shield, like he wasn't some monster. But that was before the 'incident' that changed Lionel's life there at Shield; before he discovered that Fury had been running experiments on wolves and humans like him and Natasha and the man had been in on it the whole time.

Natasha had tried to stop him from leaving, but not even she had been aware of his ability to shift.

But that was also the day he discovered Clint for who he really was: a lonely omega that hated his line of work and what they had been doing to wolves and humans like Lionel. That was when he found out that Clint had been like him so long ago, before Shield destroyed any super ability he had and left him with only his sharp-shooter skills and his training as an assassin.

"Lionel stop!" Natasha shouted at him as he ran, and sure he was fast, but she was faster than him, and an Alpha was always faster than a broken omega like him. "Lionel!" But she didn't know about his ability to shift into any creature he wanted, and he finally broke his promise and did just that. He shifted into a mouse, as small as can be, and he hid from her, using the smelly flowers that no wolf ever liked as cover until she gave up with an angry and frustrated cry and stalked away.

Climbing the from bush silently, after several moments of trying to calm his racing heart, he darted for the tree-line once more, determined to finally leave Shield for good. But it never was that easy, was it?

He ran for minutes on end before he had caught a familiar scent and he squeaked in fright when a wolf darted from the trees, small and scarred with golden brown fur. Lionel shifted again until he was also in his wolf form, so he could maybe try and fend the wolf off, but the wolf seemed to have not even noticed him, pale blue eyes clouded with tears and that in itself had Lionel rendered frozen.

 _"Y-you're… you're that… that shield agent…"_ he whispered to himself, but managed to startle the wolf enough that he himself had darted again into bushes in fright when the wolf had turned sharply to him with a startled, frightened growl, fur bristling.

The wolf had stopped though when he saw Lionel and his eyes widened, a look of recognition crossing his face when he too recognised Lionel's scent. _"...t-the mutant…"_ he mumbled and backed away a step. _"W-what are you doing out here? Are you here to fetch me? To bring me back!?"_ the agent spat, fear and anger clouding his scent now and Lionel flinched, eyes closed tight when he thought the agent was going to attack him.

 _"N-no!"_ and that was just it. That was the moment Lionel realized what exactly the agent was doing out here, on his own without his partner. _"Y-you're running away…"_ he gasped out and looked back at the agent with wide eyes, partly filled with awe.

 _"Y-yes…"_ the agent admitted, because he somehow knew that he could trust the mutant; knew that the mutant wasn't going to harm him because they were in the same boat. _"I… I'm running the same reason you are."_ he whispered and Lionel growled.

 _"Why now!? After years of knowing that Fury was doing that, why run away now!?"_

 _"Because I was one of the wolves he experimented on!"_ the wolf snapped back, blue eyes narrowed dangerously and Lionel whimpered, belly crouched to the ground with his eyes closed tight and his ears lowered to his head. _"Because I…"_ the agent lowered his voice this time and sighed, padding just a bit closer to Lionel, though he didn't dare try and comfort him, _"I… I was a wolf just like you… with abilities of my own before Fury came along and took them away from me."_ he finished and for the first time, Lionel truly understood, as he blinked his crimson eyes open to look uncertainly up at the agent.

He'd made his decision then and he slowly got up, inching closer until he could nuzzle against the other's cheek and neck, offering comfort and to show just how sorry he was. He never expected for this to happen, never thought that the agent had been just like him, but he was glad he finally knew.

-0-

Lionel had found Freya after he'd made the decision to run from their home with Clint, and he told her what happened and introduced her to Clint. The two had gotten along well enough and Freya had treated them both like her brothers and she agreed with Lionel's plan. She went with them, vowing to protect them both from any further harm or danger.

-0-

Lionel was twenty when the three had found Loki and Thor and Lionel had thought he'd officially seen it all when he found out that both were not only gods, but also wolves likes them.

Lionel watched with narrowed crimson eyes as a bird skipped around the forest ground, pecking at the grass, and his tail twitched slightly as he took a careful and silent step forward. He finally made a move to pounce, aiming at the bird and he delighted when the bird got spooked and took off, but he was soon caught off guard when another wolf jumped at him, tackling him to the ground with a dark snarl, green eyes narrowed and swirling with distrust, anger, and fear.

The younger wolf yelped in fear and pain, crimson eyes wide, as he looked up at the other, pinned to the ground as he was, ears laid back and tail curled up in between his legs. Though they were about the same size, lithe and small and sleek, and both with black fur as dark as night, Lionel felt smaller than the other with hor the other wolf's fur bristled and how he stood sharply over him.

 _"What are you doing here!?"_ the wolf hissed and Lionel whimpered, shrinking back before deciding to try and look tougher than he felt.

 _"I'm hunting, what does it look like I was doing?"_ he huffed, nose twitching when the other wolf's growl got darker.

 _"You are trespassing."_ he hissed and Lionel's eyes narrowed, ears twitching in annoyance at the lie.

 _"No I'm not! This is free territory! You don't claim it… and… you don't smell like any pack."_ he spat out, pushing at the other wolf but he had failed to try and escape, without using his strength to push him off completely. _"What's your problem anyway!? You don't just attack wolves out of the blue like that!"_ he barked and the wolf snarled back, snapping at the air just beside his neck, causing Lionel to freeze up completely, eyes wide.

 _"I'd watch you tone with me… you'll leave immediately or I'll-"_

 _"Loki."_ the black wolf above Lionel stopped at the sound of the new voice and Lionel whimpered, hearing the authoritative tone and the scent of a strong Alpha had invaded his senses to completely, he trembled. _"Leave our guest be."_

 _"But Thor-"_ Loki, the black wolf, snapped his head over to where a large, beautiful golden-white wolf stood, piercing ocean blue eyes looking at the older black wolf. He backed off though and growled slightly in annoyance and frustration when he jumped away, sulking by one of the trees in the clearing.

Lionel rolled over onto his belly, but stayed on the ground, ears lowered as he gulped, wide fearful eyes looking back and forth between the two and from the strong scent he caught from the both, he realised then that they were mates. Soulbound mates, which surprised Lionel more than he wanted to admit. Because soulbound mates were rare, especially in this day and age.

 _"Please forgive my brother's rude behavior, you have every right to hunt and stay here as we do,"_ the Alpha smiled and Lionel couldn't help but relax, and he didn't even bat an eyelash at hearing that Thor and Loki were brothers. Loki spoke again though, growling once more at Lionel and Thor.

 _"No! What if he's one of them!?"_ he snapped, green eyes narrowed but still filled with so much fear. Thor's gaze softened and he shook his head, padding softly over to Loki and he nuzzled the other's neck, calming him.

 _"Loki, my love, for such an intelligent creature, you are not very smart."_ he chuckled good naturedly and Loki glowered at Thor, but stayed quiet when Thor spoke again. _"Tell me, does this wolf smell of Asgardian blood?"_ Loki shook his head and opened his mouth to protest but Thor beat him to it. _"And does this wolf smell of our enemies? No."_ he answered himself before Loki could and looked to Lionel then. _"This wolf smells of nothing but fear, and loss, and the forest around us. Now-"_

The three stopped immediately when they heard a harsh bark from the tree-line and Lionel yelped when he watched in horror as Thor was tackled by Freya, her brown fur a sharp contrast to Thor's golden and large form. _"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"_ she snarled, teeth bared, fur bristled, and eyes narrowed and Lionel registered that Loki was about to spring forward and attack and he made to intervene until Clint showed up, breathless and eyes wide.

 _"Lionel!"_ Clint barked, dashing over to him and tackling him to the ground, nuzzling him, causing everyone to pause and stare at them. _"We were so worried about you! You were gone all morning and we couldn't find you and-"_ he suddenly stopped as if realising who they were with and he stared at Thor, Freya, and Loki, tense. _"Who are they? Did they hurt you?!"_ he suddenly asked and Lionel shook his head sharply when Clint turned to look back down at him.

 _"N-no! O-of course not…! Freya, p-please get off of Thor b-before Loki tears you away from him himself…?"_ he pleaded, crimson eyes wide and he frowned at her when she refused, still baring her teeth at Thor.

 _"I assure you miss, I have not harmed your omega. My mate had only a little misunderstanding with him,"_ Thor reassured her and she huffed, glancing at Loki, whose fur was still bristling. Thor shot a pointed look at his brother and Loki frowned, stepping back as he ducked his head, ears lowered as he looked distrusting at the others.

 _"I had… mistaken him… for someone else."_ he begrudgingly said and Freya seemed to relax just a little before jumping off and padding back over to Lionel and Clint, where Clint was still nuzzling Lionel to show his distress.

 _"Don't you dare ever do that again Leo… you worried us sick with that little stunt."_ she scolded him and he frowned, guilty.

 _"I'm sorry… but I just… I wanted to go out for a run and I guess I got a little lost and then I got distracted by a bird…"_ he blushed at this and Clint snickered at him, even as he he still nuzzled his packmate. Freya let out an exasperated, but fond sigh, shaking her head before glancing back at Loki and Thor and she spoke up, smiling back at Clint and Lionel.

 _"Come on then Leo, let's get back to the den-"_

 _"Den?"_ Loki snorted, suddenly looking unsure and Lionel turned back towards them, but he couldn't get in a word as Freya was ushering Clint up and off of him and finally leading them away from the two. _"She doesn't mean the old hunter's den by the river, does she?"_

That was all Lionel heard before they were out of earshot and he didn't know what Loki had been talking about or what Thor's response was.

-0-

What Loki had said had plagued Lionel's mind since the moment they left the two strange wolves, but Freya and Clint had soon distracted him well enough that he hadn't thought about them or what Loki had said until one day he'd caught a strange scent by the river when he went to get a drink. Shifting into his wolf form, Lionel went to scout out the scent, curious and confused, wondering if the scent belonged to another wolf. But the scent didn't smell like any wolf he'd ever met.

What Lionel found instead was a horrifying sight of hunters, _wolf_ hunters, so close to their den with crossbows and guns and knives and clothing made of iron, leather and fur. They had caught sight of him before he had even a chance to run and caught by surprise, an arrow had lodged into his hind leg as he let out a loud howl in pain. Laughter filled his ears as he turned to run, whining every time he put pressure on his injured leg but he couldn't get caught, and he couldn't run to Freya and Clint in fear that they'd be hurt too.

He couldn't shift either, the pain too great, so his only chance of survival was to run and hope to lose them as he did. He tripped and stumbled over several rocks and logs, twigs snapping at his fur and bristles from bushes tearing at his fur that he barely managed to realize just how close the hunters were until a bullet hit him this time and he was thrown back onto the ground by the force, a sharp cry leaving him.

He had thought that the bullet meant the hunters were close enough that they could kill him, and they probably were, but his worry of death was soon drowned out by a startled yell coming from one of the hunters and a loud crash from a tree falling to the ground.

Opening his eyes, Lionel found himself unable to look away in shock, awe, and fear when he saw Loki and Thor, or who he _thought_ was them, in human forms. Loki was blasting magic at two of the hunters while creating illusions to distract a third and he had the most murderous expression on his face that Lionel had ever seen before on another, aside from Freya. Thor was wielding a giant hammer that had been the cause of the tree crashing to the ground when he struck one man so hard that he had broke the tree in half. And suddenly lightning was pulled forth from the sky as Thor directed it towards the only female hunter of the group and she had screamed out before crashing to the ground, her weapons dropping immediately with a clang.

Several hunters ran from them while others had finally collapsed under Loki and Thor's attacks.

When they had all gone away, Thor had immediately went to pick the injured wolf up and Lionel whimpered, flinching away, but he hushed under Thor's quiet murmurs and the use of the Alpha's dominant tone.

The omega had fallen asleep easily, though he wondered how when he was in so much pain, and when he had woken up, he was in a small broken cottage of sorts, in a worn out bed with a wet washcloth on his forehead and bandages around his leg and his sides. At some point in the night he'd shifted into his human form and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Determining that he was too confused and too tired to get up and scout the place out, he was about to go back to sleep before a familiar scent washed around him and he opened his eyes again, turning his head only slightly to blink sleepy crimson eyes at Loki, who was human still. He noted the other's disheveled appearance and the bowl of fish stew in his hands and he offered a weak smile.

"L-Loki…?" he questioned, needing to be sure, and Loki only nodded, walking over to the younger wolf and he sighed, sitting on the bed and handing the bowl to Lionel after the other had managed to sit up. "T-thank you…"

"Food is nothing to thank me for, Lionel, was it?" Loki said, but didn't bother to let Lionel answer aside from a small nod as Lionel ate the stew gratefully. "I owe you an apology for acting the way I had." he added and Lionel paused frowning, shoulders slumping a little.

"Y-you don't have to… I understand… A-and besides… you saved me." he said with a shy smile. "That's more than enough of an apology to me." Loki only made a small noise in answer, looking away before perking up as if remembering something.

"My brother has gone to find your packmates. He will be here shortly and-"

"Loki…" Lionel interrupted him, frowning now and Loki tensed at the other's tone of voice. "You and Thor…" he looked down now, ears lowered as he looked back at the bowl of soup. "What… what _are_ you guys?"

"We're the same thing you are, Lionel, wolves." Loki lied smoothly and Lionel bristled, glaring pathetically at Loki now.

"I _saw_ you create illusions of yourself and shoot ice from your hands. Thor… he _summoned lightning_ to his hammer and he made a tree _fall_ by hitting a guy into it. Mortals can't do that. Not even ones as strong as me." he huffed out, crossing his arms and Loki frowned, looking slightly irritated before suddenly looking resigned.

"I suggest you forget what you saw, Lionel, and wait for your pack to come for you."

-0-

Lionel had barely even left the room to finally explore when he heard the front door open and he was suddenly tackled to the ground by a hysterical Clint and a very worried Freya. "Lionel! Oh my god, Lionel! What the hell happened!? W-we found blood and shit Lionel, they _hurt_ you! Don't you ever do that again!" Freya growled at him, tears brimming in her eyes and Lionel felt even more guilty than ever.

"I-I'm sorry… I…" he choked out, swallowing a whimper when Clint only cried against his chest.

"Your packmate is safe now, Freya and Clint. We have driven off the hunters and you will not be bothered by them any longer." Thor said, his voice loud though he was smiling brightly at them, proud to be witnessing such a bond between the three wolves.

"You… you _saved_ him…?" Clint murmured, eyes wide as he looked at Thor and then Loki, when the dark haired wolf came into the room, looking uncertain and uncomfortable. Immediately, when _Loki_ confirmed this, Clint launched himself at the two, hugging them and nuzzling them as he cried out his thanks and praise. "Thank you!"

It was then that Lionel realized just what he was feeling; hurt and confused, yes, and guilty certainly… but there was warmth, when he witnessed Clint looking at Thor like he was the most perfect thing in the world. And maybe he was? Because Thor was an Alpha and he had saved Lionel from hunters when his packmates weren't there because he was stubborn idiot. And when he saw Loki smile just a little at the sight, he couldn't help what he blurted out.

"Be our Alpha." he said and the entire room froze; Lionel's own eyes were wide, same with Loki's and Freya's. Clint looked absolutely delighted at the idea of finally have an Alpha but Thor, Thor looked so uncertain, that Lionel was fearful for a moment. And then he spoke.

"I am flattered, Lionel. But I am not the Alpha you want to have leading your pack." he whispered, soft and firm, and Lionel deflated, especially at the absolutely crushed look on Clint's face. "However, Loki and I… we will be delighted to join you on your travels, as packmates, if you so wish. If… if Loki… so wishes." he added and then turned to Loki and Lionel was holding his breath as he turned his pleading but defeated gaze to Loki.

He was able to breathe again, finally, with that one soft spoken word: "Okay." And everything seemed perfect again.

-0-

It was months until Lionel and his small pack of misfits had finally met Bruce. The beta had been in trouble with a couple of hunters and lawmen, when Clint and Thor had caught wind of them. Clint had been torn between retrieving his packmates while Thor had gone ahead and rushed in without thinking. Eventually, Clint had made up his mind and went back to get the other three to help, knowing that Thor probably couldn't take on even lawmen by himself.

The field was absolute chaos by the time that Lionel and the others had arrived and no one had given it a second thought to shift into their wolf forms and help save the poor brown and green beta wolf that looked like he was on his last limb. Lionel had jumped head first at the main hunter, teeth bared and claws poised to dig into the flesh of the human. Freya and Clint had gone and helped out the rogue wolf, fending off of the stray lawmen and two hunters that thought they were the weakest of the bunch. A mistake on their part when Clint nearly tore one of the hunter's' arm off getting the weapons away from her.

Loki and Thor had teamed up against most of the lawmen that were after the wolf for a reason none of them knew, and Lionel had went to join them after making the lead hunter flee the scene, followed by a few more. Eventually it was only down to the lawmen and the wolves until Lionel and Loki had teamed up to take down the largest of the men, the one wielding the heavy stun gun and the large crossbow and rifle. Loki had gotten hit with the stun gun, but Lionel could barely voice his worry and fear at seeing his packmate go down before the rest of the men had fled, worse for wear than the wolves.

Thor and Lionel had gone over to Lionel almost immediately while Freya and Clint had stuck with the other wolf. Loki had been find after several minutes, though after they all shifted back, Thor had to help Loki back towards their temporary campsite. Freya and Clint had helped back the strange wolf and they had taken care of him until he had been able to shift back, without hurting himself.

"Thank you…" the wolf, Bruce, as Lionel had found out, said softly, taking the bowl of hot soup in his hands gratefully as Freya changed his bandages carefully. "How long have I been out?" he asked, taking a bite of the soup and Lionel sighed, his gaze shifting over to where Clint was, passed out in his wolf form.

"Over sixteen hours," he answered and Bruce had shifted his gaze, solemnly and guiltily over to Clint as well.

"Is he going to be okay?" Lionel smiled then when Bruce nodded to Clint and he nodded back, sitting on one of the broken down chairs Thor and Loki had found a while back. He adjusted his weight accordingly and easily so he didn't break it and spoke up, soft and sure.

"He's fine. Clint's stubborn, but sleep finally won out." he chuckled and tilted his head, ears twitching. He vaguely noted Bruce's gaze fixing back on him, and more specifically his ears, but he continued on as if he hadn't noticed, "He was really worried, you know. He stayed by your side the entire time you were out. Refused to eat unless Freya dragged his ass away to get him some. Loki had threatened him a few hours earlier to go and get some rest or he'd turn Clint's fur pink." he giggled at the memory of that and even Bruce's lips twitched a bit into a small smile.

It was quiet for a moment before Bruce's expression became vaguely haunted and very serious. "Your ears… who did that to you?" he asked, sounding very unsure, but determined nonetheless and Lionel stiffened up, ears lowered as he turned his head down.

"I… I was… it…" he stumbled over his words and shifted uneasily before sighing. "I-I was born inside a … a-a lab… c-created by… by a scientist mad beyond compare." he whispered and offered no further explanation. Couldn't have even if he wanted to, when Loki showed up wanting both him and Freya for something.

Freya fixed a look of sympathy and pain on Lionel before she nodded and pat Bruce on the shoulder. Then she led Lionel out, following Loki, and Lionel couldn't have been more glad for the distraction.

-0-

The moment that Bruce and Clint had become mates had surprised no one but Clint and Bruce themselves. But Lionel had never been happier for his packmate and his friend.

-0-

Lionel had met Logan and Remy on a stray scouting mission, when he'd been looking for any possible danger where they had taken up camp, with Loki. Though it had been clear to Lionel when they met that the two were rogue wolves and would always be; or at least Logan was and Remy was just happy to follow him wherever they went.

 _"Why?"_ Lionel asked, frowning in confusion at the larger, much larger brown wolf before him, who was currently nuzzled against a very tired smaller brown wolf.

 _"We aren't meant for the pack life, kid,"_ Logan said, looking up at the black wolf with a gentle smile. _"I appreciate your concern though, for both Remy and I, but it's not needed."_

 _"B-but… but we're wolves,_ _Logan_ _… we're meant to be with pack. That's how we survive, how we live…"_ Lionel whimpered, edging closer to the two, on his belly, tilting his head in that one effective puppy look that not even Loki or Freya could resist for too long. Logan just laughed, quietly of course, and offered a smirk as he tilted his own head.

 _"Yes, I know, but Remy and I… well, we've had our fair share of packlife. It ain't for us, Leo and won't be,"_ he said and Lionel deflated. After a few seconds though, Lionel sighed and nodded in understanding.

 _"Okay… I understand. Just… promise me you know that you will always have a home with my pack."_ Logan smiled, genuinely and truly grateful and he nodded, nuzzling Lionel's cheek in appreciation.

 _"Thanks, kid."_

-0-

When Lionel had found Tony and Steve, he had thought for sure that they were all going to die. Because Tony had gotten into some deep trouble and Steve had been trying so hard to protect his mate and only love when Lionel had found them. And of course they came out on top, they always did, but not without a few wounds first.

 _"Lionel wait!"_ Freya shouted at him, chasing after the younger wolf when he had taken off through the forest, eyes wide with panic when he had smelt the blood and the fear so tangible in the air. He also smelt something so familiar that it had been so hard to forget even after all these years.

 _"T-Tony!"_ Lionel couldn't help but shout jumping into the fray the moment that a large golden white wolf had been attacked by the largest black Alpha wolf that Lionel had ever seen and Tony… Lionel had felt sick when he saw Tony's small form, bruised and broken. _"Tony!"_ Lionel shouted again, skidding to a halt beside the fallen wolf before barely dodging out of the way when a large wolf tried attacking him.

 _"This omega is ours. Fuck off!"_ the wolf, a darker blonde than the Alpha protecting Tony, spat, fangs bared and Lionel growled, baring his own fangs. He was filled to the brim with anger, seeing this and he attacked without abandon, crashing into the Alpha and sinking his claws and fangs into the others flesh, tearing hard even as the Alpha roared and tried bucking him off.

 _"Tony is not yours!"_ he snarled, though his voice was muffled and he heard a sharp cry before being thrown against a tree. Getting up shakily, he jumped over to where Tony still lay and realized very quickly that he and the other wolf were no match to the five Alphas surrounding them. _"Go away!"_ Lionel barked and he yelped in fear when the golden Alpha from earlier snapped at him, teeth making an audible sound as they bit at nothing but air and the Alpha laughed at Lionel's obvious fear.

 _"You're not getting to Tony as long as I'm alive…!"_ the Alpha fighting for Tony had snarled and snapped back at the golden wolf that taunted him and a grey wolf smirked viciously.

 _"I think that can be arranged quite easily-"_ she was cut off sharply when Clint had barreled into her and Lionel couldn't help but think, _finally_.

 _"Where the hell have you guys been!?"_ Lionel growled, pleased though by this turn of events as they quickly got the upper hand in the fight.

 _"Excuse us if we lost you minutes after you darted away to only heaven knows where,"_ Freya growled back at him and Lionel couldn't even summon an ounce of guilt, not when Tony was still hurt and they were getting hurt too.

By the time only one Alpha remained, the rest either dead or gone from cowardice, Lionel was bleeding heavily, Loki and Clint were panting, Bruce was out for the count, Thor and Freya were both bleeding and exhausted, and the golden Alpha by their side was still standing tall as ever, though it was obvious he was just a bit fatigued as well. The Alpha remaining snarled at them, fur bristling, determined to get his paws on Tony, but Lionel wasn't going to let that happen if he had a say in it, and before the golden Alpha could attack back, Lionel had struck first, tearing into the brown wolf before them all so fast none of them had even known what had happened until the brown wolf was lying dead under his blood soaked paws.

And even Lionel was horrified to what he had done, but it was worth it. To keep Tony alive, it was worth it.

-0-

 _"Thank you,"_ the golden Alpha had smiled so bright at Lionel and his packmates, after they all returned to their campsite to rest and heal, though it was strained with fatigue and a bit of pain.

Lionel smiled back and ducked his head, ears lowered as he watched his pack then go about doing their own thing. His injuries were the least of his worries, lodged in the back of his mind as he focused on getting his packmates better. Especially to see Tony through the rough injuries he had received before the wolves had taken him out. _"It… it was n-nothing… Tony needed my help… that's… that's all…"_ he said and shuffled on his paws as the other shook his head.

 _"No, I'm serious. Thank you, if you hadn't shown up when you did, Tony and I would've been done for-"_ then the Alpha paused and he frowned, suddenly confused and Lionel stiffened up, eyes downcast now. _"How… how do you know who Tony is?"_

Deflating a little, Lionel padded over to where Tony was lying and he sighed, looking a bit defeated and disheartened. _"Tony… Tony and I… we… he…"_ groaning, he paused to take a moment to think about how best to explain how he knew who Tony was. Because truth is, _"Tony was the first person, wolf or not, to truly give a damn about me…"_

That was all it took to break the dam and he told the wolf everything. From being born in a cruel place, in a lab as nothing but an experiment, to killing his creator, to being forced to live on the streets as a kid with nothing to defend himself with or take care of himself with and no one to care for him. And then to how he met Tony, the one person who had taken him in and took care of him for a while. Tony knew about his shifter abilities, about his horrible past and his regret of killing the Doctor but also his relief of being free from him.

 _"But he… he left one day… without an explanation and I… I thought…"_ Lionel choked on his tears, eyes closed tightly as he nuzzled into Tony's side, so glad to have found him again, but so heartbroken that Tony had even left in the first place.

 _"...I never forgot you."_ Tony mumbled, coffee eyes blinking open and he groaned, startling Lionel so bad he yelped and jumped, eyes wide.

 _"T-Tony…?!"_ Lionel gasped and then whimpered when Tony made a small noise in pain. _"D-don't move… y-you're hurt-"_

 _"I never forgot you… Lionel…"_ Tony ignored him and spoke again, eyes open once more as he looked at the younger black wolf. _"And I… I-I went back… to try and find you… but you were gone when I did…"_ he sounded so guilty and heartbroken that Lionel did cry, as he curled against Tony, nuzzling against the other omega without abandon.

Neither had noticed when the golden Alpha had left, nor did they notice when exactly they had fallen asleep, curled against each other as close as they could be without worsening either of their injuries any further.

-0-

When everyone had rested up enough and were healed well enough they could move around and be confident in their abilities, Tony and Steve, as the Alpha had introduced himself when Tony and Lionel finally woke up, had to leave, but Lionel wouldn't have that.

"Stay with us." Lionel pleaded, staring at Tony and Steve with determined, but pleading red eyes.

"Lionel we can't…" Tony murmured, eyes looking so sad and pitiful and Lionel whimpered in response.

"Why?" Thor asked the question, genuinely confused and Steve frowned when Tony looked down and away.

"Tony, babe…" he started but Tony's head snapped up and he glared at the only other Alpha in the camp.

"No, Steve." Tony growled out, taking a step back, but there was fear in his eyes. "I won't do it. I… I won't put them in harm's way because of me."

Steve frowned but said nothing in return, though he would've if Lionel hadn't spoken up then, hands clenched. "Anthony Edward Stark you haven't changed a damn bit!" he snapped, anger and hurt in his gaze and Tony froze, eyes wide. Everyone did, having never heard that tone before from the sweet little omega. "Y-you're a selfish, moronic, prick and you always will be!" he closed his eyes tightly, ears lowered and he trembled, but backed away when Tony tried taking a step towards him, opening his mouth to speak but he cut him off sharply. "When will you get it through your thick head that you're not indestructible!? You're mortal! You can't do things like this! You can't be selfish and stay away from those that you need because you can't… because you don't _want_ to…" he choked on his words here, tears streaking down his face and he turned away, only to freeze when Tony snapped back at him.

"Oh that's just perfect coming from a fucking hypocrite like yourself Lionel! When have you ever not tried to-"

Lionel whirled around and bared his fangs, eyes dark now and tail lashing back and forth, "At least I don't shy away from my pack! I know I can protect them and they can protect me! I know that I can get them into danger but I'll do everything in my power to stop that from happening and even if it does I'll do everything I can to protect them because they're my family! Family protects you and you protect them! When are you going to learn that!?"

He ran off before any of them had a chance to react.

-0-

It was hours before Lionel had finally been found, though it had been by the last person he thought would come after him. Tony himself.

"W-what do _you_ want…?" Lionel growled weakly, wiping away tears that had not stopped flowing since he ran from the fight. For a moment Tony only just stood there, frowning at Lionel before the younger omega couldn't take it anymore and he growled again, "Well?" he spat and Tony finally sighed.

"I came to say goodbye," Tony murmured and Lionel snapped his head up, eyes wide before they narrowed and he huffed.

"Well good riddance!" he barked, gripping tightly at the grass beneath his hands. "I-I never wanted you here in the first place!"

Tony flinched at that, but Lionel felt so much more hurt, so much more angry that Tony could ever hope to feel right now. "Lionel, you don't understand…!"

"Understand!? I understand perfectly!" he spat, chest heaving as he tried to calm his heavy angry breaths and his rapid beating heart. "You want to leave? Fine! Go ahead! Leave us! Leave _me_! Again!" he snarled and Tony's breath hitched, eyes wide as he stared at Lionel in sudden realization.

"Lionel… Leo… I _tried_ to find you…" he strained and Lionel scoffed, eyes downcast now.

"Why did you even leave in the first place…?" he whispered pathetically, his grip on the grass becoming slack now as he his shoulders slumped.

Tony was silent, for minutes on end until he finally sat down next to Lionel and he sighed, looking down at the grass as he plucked at the blades beneath his fingers. "I left… because I had to…" he whispered back, deciding that it was now or never. And he hated that he knew the option of never led him to never seeing Lionel again. "My… my parents died… and my godfather Obadiah, you remember him?" Lionel nodded silently, stricken by the news that Tony's parents had died without his knowledge. "He… he made us leave the city because he thought that I wouldn't be able to handle it. And he would've been right, if I didn't have anyone to comfort me, Leo…"

"I-I'm sorry… I-I didn't know…" Lionel whimpered, clinging to Tony's arm as he rested his head against the other's shoulder.

"It's okay… Obadiah pulled me away before I could tell you. And it was almost a year, but I _promise_ you… I had tried to come back and look for you, but you were long gone by then. And I'm _sorry_ that I left, I am… but Leo… I-I _can't_ stay this time…"

"Why not!?" Lionel cried out, red eyes looking up, wide and pleading at Tony, filled with new tears. "Why can't you stay!? We're pack…!" he whimpered again, clutching tighter at Tony's shirt. "Y-you're my pack… I-I can't lose you… n-not again…" he choked out and Tony's breath caught once more as he stared at the other wolf with wide eyes, feeling so emotionally hurt that he didn't know what to do.

So he did the only thing he knew how and he reached up, out of habit, and pet Lionel's head. it wasn't long before Lionel shifted into his wolf form and he curled up beside Tony, exhausted and hurt, with his paws and head resting on the other's lap.

 _"Please…?"_ Lionel whispered and Tony didn't speak for several heartbeats before he nodded, hesitantly and slowly.

"Okay… I'll stay…" he whispered in promise and before he knew it, Lionel was out like a light within the next several minutes.

-0-

When Lionel and Tony had returned after several hours, their packmates had greeted them with worry and fleeting anger, especially Clint, Freya, Loki, and Steve. But when Lionel had told them the good news, and he and Tony shared a small smile, everyone had been ecstatic, until Thor pointed out something that made Lionel realize just exactly how much he meant to his packmates.

"As happy as I am to have you both within our pack, Steven and Anthony, I must point out that we now have two Alpha's in this pack and only one can be Pack Alpha." Thor pointed out unhelpfully and Lionel frowned, looking back and forth between Thor and Steve before realizing just what he was saying.

"Y-you want Steve to be our Alpha?" he whispered breathlessly and if he hadn't already been in love with the idea from hearing so many good things about him from Tony, he would've thought Thor to be ridiculous.

"I think that's an awesome idea! Don't you babe?" Tony smirked, nudging Steve in the side with a wink and Steve blinked at them before shaking his head with a gentle smile, a blush dusting his cheeks.

"As flattering as that is, I don't think it would be right challenging you for position of Pack Alpha when you are already-" he paused then when he suddenly realized something and even more so when Thor chuckled.

"I was not talking about me, my friend." Thor confirmed what had already passed through his mind and he turned then to Lionel when the poor omega only sent them both looks of confusion.

"I don't understand? You're our Pack Alpha, shouldn't you challenge Steve?" the black wolf asked, tilting his head a little as he regarded them both. Thor chuckled and shook his head, stepping forward as he rested a hand on Lionel's shoulder, and the omega cooed at the little contact.

"I am not our Pack Alpha, Lionel," Thor said and the Lionel stiffened up, crimson eyes frozen in shock as they stared into Thor's own ocean blue.

"W-what do you mean…?" he questioned, trembling slightly, thinking the worst, but Loki was the one, quick to intervene and reassure him that what he was thinking was wrong.

"My brother is not Pack Alpha, Lionel, but don't get him wrong because he is still apart of this pack." And then Loki paused and waited for Lionel to look at him and he stated, perfectly easy and very firm, as he held the younger wolf's gaze, " _We_ are still apart of this pack. Of _your_ pack."

Lionel's eyes widened then and his breath hitched, as he took a single step back, tail twitching as he looked around at his fellow packmates, disbelief and startled, frightened confusion shining bright within them. Freya, Clint, and Bruce offered him a smile, Thor nodded at him reassuringly, Loki nodded with a fond and loving smile, and when he looked at Tony, he saw naught but a smirk and a gleeful glint in the other omega's coffee colored orbs. "It's as you said, Lionel. We're all apart of your pack. _I'm_ apart of your pack… and that means what it always has been. You're out Alpha, despite that you're an omega. You're our Pack Almega? Omalpha?" Suddenly Lionel choked on his laughter, crimson eyes sparkling brightly at Tony and soon as his fellow packmates when they all joined with a chuckle or a bit of laughter.

"You've always been there to protect us and keep us safe, even though half the time you're the one getting your ass into trouble," Freya teased and Clint grinned cheekily with Lionel smiled sheepishly at them both before he suddenly turned serious, though a small grateful smile played at his lips as he walked over to Lionel.

"This pack wouldn't be here without you Leo… because despite what you think, you were the one that started this, that got us all together. If it it weren't for you, I would've been on my own for years, running from Shield. Freya would still be Natasha's lapdog. Loki and Thor would still be… be running from whoever they're running from on their own. And Tony and Steve? Now they have a pack too, and it's all thanks to you. So yeah, you're our Alpha… but that doesn't mean you won't always be our little omega too." Clint nuzzled his cheek and neck after pulling Lionel into a tight hug and both omega's relished in the contact.

"So what will it be, Alpha?" Freya murmured when Lionel pulled away from Clint and Lionel suddenly looked so unsure before he looked to Thor and Loki, who both nodded in encouragement, and then to Tony, who gave him a wink and a thumbs up with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face Lionel had ever seen. But when he finally turned to Steve, he set his eyes in determination upon the golden Alpha and he regarded the other, recalling everything Tony had heard about him and everything he had seen in just the previous day.

"This is my pack," Lionel started slowly and Steve smiled knowingly at him, before the smile fell when Lionel spoke again, "but I'm not an Alpha. This pack, our pack… deserves so much better. Someone who will take care of them better than a broken omega like me can," before anyone could protest, Lionel stepped forward towards Steve, standing up straight and tall, even though he was still a good foot smaller than Steve. "You're the Alpha that this pack needs, but I understand pack customs better than one would think."

Steve regarded him for a moment, seriously, before he smirked, tilting his chin up as he looked down at the smaller wolf, pale blue eyes suddenly glinting with something Lionel couldn't identify. "Very well then. I will accept your challenge, Alpha, and I will honor this fight." he agreed and suddenly, before anyone could blink, Lionel had shifted into a wolf and leaped at the man who had only a fraction of a second to shift before dodging as well.

Their pack stood back, all witnessing in slight horror at the fight, not sure how to take the show of dominance. Especially between a small omega, like Lionel, and a true Alpha, like Steve. Tony bit his lip as he watched Lionel give it his all, using his strength to nearly match Steve's own, and Clint cried out when Steve threw Lionel against a tree. Freya and Loki were on the edge of their metaphorical seats as they watched Lionel get back up and strike hard and fast, as the two wolves tumbled and rolled as they growled and snapped at each other.

Neither seemed willing to back down, but it was obvious that Lionel's previous wounds had finally caught up to him and before long, Steve had Lionel pinned to the ground, fangs bared as he used his full weight to press the wolf down and keep him pinned. Lionel snarled back before Steve had snapped his jaws forward, clamping down, not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough to assert his dominance. To get Lionel to submit.

If Lionel had been an Alpha, he would've been able to resist, but as an omega at heart, it took not even a minute before he had finally gone limp, baring his neck for his new Alpha, in a show of submission.

When Steven had felt this, he let go after a few heartbeats and lifted his head back, tilting it up before releasing a loud, long howl that told of his triumphant victory.

Lionel kept his head tilted, breathing labored, but he couldn't help the whimper when Steve bent down to lick at his neck, nuzzling it. _"Thank you…"_ Steve whispered and Lionel had no idea what he meant for a moment, until he suddenly caught the sight of Tony's face, beaming and bright and so full of pride and love and adoration that he knew what Steve was thanking him for.

 _"You were always meant to be our True Alpha…"_ Lionel whispered back, nuzzling Steve's cheek before getting up after Steve had backed off of him. They shifted back, both of them, and Lionel offered a tired smile at their new Alpha, before gladly accepting the praise and touch from his fellow packmates.

-0-

Lionel was the only one not surprised, aside from Steve, when Tony had mentioned something about him having a mansion, secluded and remote and secret, hidden in a place not far from where they had been. And Tony had offered it as their home to his new pack, and everyone had been beyond grateful to finally have a place of rest, a place they could call home without having to worry about getting caught and tortured, or worse.

-0-

It had taken a few months, but they had all settled finally, and everyone was happy to be with their packmates. That was when Mark had found them and almost immediately, the hotheaded beta had set an imbalance within the pack that nearly had even Steve bristling.

Lionel stared at the strange golden, red wolf with wariness and uncertainty. He'd never seen anything like the other, with fur that looked like fire, but also looked scorched in several places, and he almost wondered if the other wolf had gotten himself into trouble with fire at any point in his past.

When he'd asked if the other was okay, he'd earned nothing but a growl as the wolf dragged himself over to the river to drink. _"Go away, shifter, and leave me to rot in peace…"_ the wolf snarled when Lionel didn't move and Lionel flinched back, ears lowered when somehow, the other wolf knew what he was.

 _"H-how-"_

 _"I can smell it on you… you smell how I did… years ago…"_ the wolf muttered, flicking his tail dismissively and Lionel gasped, eyes wide as he took in what exactly that had meant.

 _"You… you used to be-"_

 _"Yes, now leave me alone or I'll make you leave!"_ the wolf snapped back at the black shifter and Lionel frowned, ears lowered once more.

 _"No."_ Lionel huffed out, standing firm though his tail trembled a little when the wolf shot him a vicious glare, teeth bared in a snarl. _"Y-you're hurt… and exhausted… a-and probably hungry. I have a place… m-my pack has a place. You-"_

 _"I don't need no pathetic mutt telling me what I need or don't need. I'm fine. And I sure as hell don't need a pack of wolves like you on my back every second of every minute of my life."_ the wolf rolled his eyes when Lionel whimpered. _"Get lost."_

-0-

Lionel never left; well, he left but he stayed on the sidelines, always watching the other wolf, waiting for the right moment. It came not long after their first meeting when he saw the wolf collapsed outside the small border that Steve, Bruce, and Thor had set up after a few days of moving in with Steve and Tony.

When the wolf had collapsed, Lionel had shifted, without thinking, into a bear and had brought him back to the mansion, much to the annoyance and strange confusion and curiosity of some of his packmates.

"Who is… that?" Freya asked, frowning at Lionel when the black wolf, now just a simple wolf again, since some of his packmates still didn't know he could shift into different animals, brought the other wolf inside the mansion. Steve had helped him out the second that Lionel came inside and helped set the golden, red wolf on the couch in the main living room.

"I… I don't know…" Lionel admitted, frowning under the gaze of his packmates, and even the stern yet concerned one thrown at him by Steve, after he'd shifted back into his human form.

"Lionel," Steve started and Lionel quickly amended before anyone else could get any ideas or chide him for what a stupid idea _this_ was.

"I met him a week ago!" he blurted out, anxious and worried about the other wolf. "He was all alone and he came to the river and he looked hurt and hungry but he wouldn't accept my help or my offer to come stay here and he told me to go away and leave him alone. Obviously I didn't leave him alone because that wouldn't be right and he'd been hurt by something or someone and I-"

"Lionel, deep breaths…" Loki spoke up, a hand on his shoulder and Lionel jumped a little because when had Loki gotten so close? But he listened and took a deep breath, smiling weakly back at the other black wolf when Loki offered a smile to him in return. "We know there was a reason you brought him here, and I can take a guess that this wolf was likely already passed out when you decided to take him here. It seems to me that he would not go willingly awake, if what you had said was true."

Lionel nodded like this and turned pleading eyes to Steve, "I found him collapsed outside the border… he needs our help. Please Alpha…?" Lionel begged, ears lowered and Steve sighed, nodding his head.

"Alright, he can stay. But the moment he wakes up, I wish to be alerted imme-"

"Certainly, Master Steve, I will take care of that for you." the entire pack, aside from Freya, Bruce, and Tony jumped, when they heard the disembodied voice of Tony's A.I. And even Steve was apparently still not used to hearing Jarvis speak up at the most seemingly odd and random times, "I have been monitoring the man's vitals and will notify you of any sudden changes and/or if he wakes."

"Thank you, Jarvis," Tony spoke up, snickering lightly to himself. It never got old to see his packmates reactions to his creation and he loved the adorable little expressions of confusion and slight anxiety from his mate, Thor, Loki, Clint, and from Lionel.

"...yes, thank you." Steve cleared his throat and nodded to the others before disappearing down the hall.

-0-

When the wolf had woke up, Mark, he said his name was, the entire pack had been on edge because of how he reacted. Mark had not been happy when he had discovered that he was in a foreign home and he was furious to learn that Lionel had not in fact left him alone like he had asked. But after Jarvis and Bruce had both spoken up about how the man was equal parts exhausted, hurt, and hungry, Mark had reluctantly agreed to stay.

That hadn't meant that he hadn't caused hell upon the ones who had claimed the home as their territory, however.

And Tony and Clint especially had not been very happy about that.

-0-

"Son of a bitch!" Tony finally snapped when he had seen Mark, as stupid as it may have seemed, using his favorite coffee mug for _tea_ no less. It only drove him further over the edge when he saw that arrogant, barely innocent smirk gracing the tired wolf's lips. "That's _my_ mug!" he snarled, hands clenched to his sides.

It was helping much that he'd dealt with Mark constantly flirting with the Alpha, his _mate_ , from the moment that he had gotten there and he was boiling with anger and jealousy. Because Steve was oblivious to all things related to flirting and romance when it didn't involve Tony, sure, but Tony sure as hell was not.

"I don't see your name on it." Mark puffed out and Tony's eye twitched, a low growl forming in his throat.

"You ass, you shouldn't have to! My scent is all over it!" It also wasn't helping that Steve had personally made that mug for him, a few months after they had completed their mating bond. Tony didn't give it a moment's pause when he saw something like anger and guarded fear flash across Mark's blue eyes at the mention of the word scent.

"Is it?" Mark sneered sarcastically and made to look at the mug and sniff at it, "Oh _sorry_ , my bad." And then he just left, after roughly putting the mug and the tea in the sink and Tony had paid him no mind as he ran to check and see if the mug was okay before giving it a thorough washout of both the tea and Mark's DNA.

Lionel, having been a witness to the scene, frowned and sighed, before following after Mark, just to make sure he wasn't going to get into trouble.

-0-

Mark had stayed for all of two weeks before Jarvis deemed him okay to be on his own and the pack, aside from Steve, Bruce, and Lionel, couldn't have been happier. But Lionel wasn't ready to let him leave, especially after having spent the last two weeks observing Mark and noticing one very important detail that made him realize he really didn't want Mark to leave and go out on his own anymore.

 _"Mark…"_ Lionel whispered, confronting the wolf as gentle as he could after discovering what he did, but he still noted the slight jump in the other's form at having heard him speak.

 _"What do you want?"_ Mark grumbled, eying the other wolf with wariness and unease.

 _"To… to talk."_ Lionel sighed and walked over to the other, sitting by the river and he looked up, wondering how best to breach the obviously sensitive topic.

 _"Well, I'm waiting."_

 _"You… when did you lose… you ability to smell things?"_ Lionel finally asked and Mark stiffened up before growling a little.

 _"I can still smell things!"_ he snarled and Lionel frowned at him, obviously knowing that was a lie. _"I told you a while back that I could smell you were a shifter! Isn't that proof enough?"_ Shaking his head, Lionel shifted uneasily on his paws, looking down.

 _"I know… I know you were lying now. Because my scent isn't any different than my packmates. They told me so. And that only means that you knew from heart that I was a shifter because you were once one, nothing more, nothing less. And… and now that I know, you can't leave."_ the black wolf said stubbornly and Mark snarled at him, recovering from his shock and slight awe before jumping at him, tackling the surprised wolf to the ground.

 _"I don't need your help! I don't need any of your guys' help! I'm fine on my own! With or without my sense of smell…!"_ he barked viciously and Lionel trembled, but he held the other's furious gaze with his own stubborn and determined one.

 _"Do you know the reason why you collapsed outside of our territory?"_ Lionel asked and Mark paused, though he didn't move an inch. _"Because you can't use your sense of smell to hunt, or smell borders and you get hurt because of that. You collapsed because you got too hungry to hunt for yourself when all of the prey is quiet and you can't smell them. You collapsed because the reason you got too hurt is because you couldn't smell your attackers coming and that meant a serious disadvantage to you in any area you are."_

 _"That… I don't-"_

 _"And one day, you're going to be on your own, too weak to hunt for yourself anymore and you'll be an easy target to other wolves that are in the territory you entered by mistake because you can't smell borders. Or you'll be easy prey to hunters because they're as silent as mice and you won't be able to see, hear, or smell them coming."_ His words were harsh, but his tone was calm and quiet, understanding.

Mark was frozen above him, sapphire eyes glinting with something unidentifiable, but Lionel knew then that he won. Because no wolf truly ever wanted to be alone and no wolf ever wanted to be so weak and defenseless that they'll be easy pickings for other predators, especially not hunters.

-0-

So Lionel took Mark back to the house and after a few days of clearing things up with his packmates, Lionel was delighted to find that Mark was now officially a pack member. Mark had apologized to Tony, and especially when he learned that Steve had been his mate for a very long time. He'd only thought that Tony had just been pining after their Alpha and they weren't actually together.

Tony had, of course after threatening Mark viciously in that flippant way of his, forgiven him and things around the mansion had become a little bit easier.

-0-

It was months before things had become chaos again, after everyone settled back down with their newest packmate. And Lionel had only wished that he had seen it coming, because of course nothing was ever so perfect that his past wouldn't ever come back to bite him in the ass.

Lionel was twenty one when Pepper and Natasha had come to their territory.

-0-

"Lionel…?" How his name was said wasn't what made him freeze up, nor the voice that said it, no. It was the scent that filled his nostrils a mere ten seconds before that had him bristling and frozen to his spot on the forest ground. Turning sharply, wide crimson eyes stared at the familiar red haired wolf before him. He backed away sharply then, ears lowered and tail between his legs as he suddenly remembered everything that had happened during his time with Shield. "Wait… no I-"

 _"G-go away…!"_ Lionel barked, shaking his head furiously. _"You can't touch me here! I have a pack and if… if you do anything to me they'll-"_

"My mate is hurt!" Natasha cut him off, hazel eyes clear and pleading and filled with so much regret and hurt that it made Lionel literally stumble over himself, eyes once more incredibly wide.

 _"Y-your mate…? Y-you have a… a mate…?"_ he whispered in question and suddenly he heard a small whimper near where they were and he froze before watching in shock when Natasha shifted and ran in the direction. Lionel followed immediately despite his fears of the assassin and the agency she worked with.

It had taken no more than a minute before they reached a small den where Natasha disappeared into, and Lionel paused, slowing his steps. Suddenly that fear and overwhelming uncertainty flooded back and he couldn't help but worry if this was a trap. They were outside the border now and Natasha could hurt him and claim that she didn't know he belonged to a pack since they weren't inside his territory anymore. She could claim that she thought he was a rogue wolf except for the fact that he and Clint knew-

Another whimper broke him from his thoughts and he thought not another second more before making his way inside and he gasped when he saw the pretty strawberry colored wolf that was lying against the far wall of the den, breathing heavily and covered in shallow cuts, her fur matted to her skin with sweat and blood.

He watched the wolf interact with Natasha and his heart warmed with the knowledge that there was so much love and trust in the other wolf's eyes. Did she know, though? About Natasha's involvement with Shield and what they did with wolves like them?

Shaking his head he turned his full attention towards the strawberry wolf and he edged closer, noting how she seemed wary of him, but she made no move or sound when he got closer. _"What happened…?"_ he whispered and Natasha whimpered when the other wolf whined and let her head fall against the den floor.

 _"Shield-"_ Natasha started and Lionel bristled, jumping away, glaring at the two wolves now. _"Lionel, no, please-"_

 _"I knew it! I fucking knew it! This is all a trap, isn't it!?"_ he barked out, tail quivering and ears lowered and the other wolf whined.

 _"No!"_ Natasha shouted immediately, her own ears lowered. _"It's not… I swear, Lionel… Pepper and I… we no longer have anything to do with Shield or Fury. We left left them… the moment that they hurt her. They hurt my mate…"_ she deflated and suddenly Lionel knew and he understood.

-0-

He didn't tell his pack, not yet, but he did go back to get Bruce, knowing that Bruce could help Pepper.

"What happened to her?" Bruce asked a few minutes after he'd started doing a little check up on Pepper and Natasha sighed, sitting up against the back wall with Pepper's head in her lap.

"We've been running from Shield for four months now, after having left when I found out that Fury and a few of his goons had hurt my mate when I had refused to do an assignment that many before me had failed." she looked at Lionel then and the wolf's ears lowered to his head when he understood what that assignment was. Hunting him and Clint both down and bringing them back to Shield. "A few days ago, we were discovered by a hunter nicknamed Ultron and he found us. We managed to evade him for a while until suddenly he was right on top of us and he managed to hurt Pepper and I really bad before I chased him away."

"Where are you injuries, if I may ask?" Bruce questioned, doing a quick once over to survey Natasha and she squirmed uncomfortably.

"Shield had given me the ability to heal faster than most. Any injury I sustained went away in a matter of minutes or even just a few hours." she explained and Lionel huffed, bristling slightly when he recalled what Clint had said a while back.

"They gave you powers… and took Clint's away…" he growled out and she flinched.

"They… they gave me one of his abilities… Lionel…" she murmured regretfully and Lionel snarled at her.

"One of his abilities!?" he snapped and she shrunk away. He only quieted his voice when Pepper whimpered again and Bruce shot him a stern look. "Is that why he was so afraid of you? So angry at you? Because Shield took his powers away and gave one of them, probably his most important one, to a _bitch_ of an _assassin_ like you!?"

 _"She… she's not a bitch…"_ Pepper mumbled and Lionel froze, eyes wide. _"She… she never wanted his powers… but Fury refused to take them back. Said that it was better that way, that Natasha was more important than Clint was. That she and a few other agents deserved them more than he did."_

"W-what…?" Lionel's heart broke at that and he frowned, looking back at Natasha. "What is she saying, Natasha?"

"Lionel, I loved Clint like he was my own brother, but after Fury took away his powers and gave one of them to me… well, Clint never looked at me the same." she whispered and Lionel sighed, deflating a little.

"Does Clint know?"

"No." Natasha suddenly bit out, eyes narrowed. "He couldn't have known. Fury would've killed him the second that he tried to-" she cut herself off and Lionel shuttered at the mental images. "I'd rather him be mad at me than have him be killed on my account because of what Fury did."

"Then what about the program!?" Lionel suddenly snapped, ears lowered once more. "Why did you stick around if Fury was taking away powers and abilities from wolves and humans like us?"

"Because had I tried to go against him or had I tried to leave, Pepper wouldn't be here with me." Natasha snapped back and Lionel fell silent, not knowing what else to say.

-0-

Knowing the real reason why Natasha had done what she did, Lionel had decided that after a few weeks, it was finally time for her and Clint to make up.

-0-

"Clint… Clint, please, you have to trust me…" Natasha pleaded and Clint growled at her, eyes watery and teeth bared. His ears were lowered against his head, his fur was bristling, and his tail was tucked beneath his legs as he stood between Lionel and Natasha.

 _"Why the hell should I!?"_ he snapped, _"After all that you've done, all that Shield had done to me… to other wolves like us…!? You have the nerve to ask me to trust you… to forgive you!?"_

 _"Clint… stop…"_ Lionel murmured, taking a few steps forward and he nuzzled his packmates fur, but even Clint was wary of him.

 _"Why did you bring me here Leo!? To her!? She works for Shield!"_ he bit out and Natasha stepped forward but Lionel shook his head at her, despite wanting her to explain. Clint wouldn't listen to her though and he will barely listen to Lionel given the circumstances, but Lionel was willing to try.

 _"She's not with Shield anymore…"_ he started and Clint stared at him in disbelief.

 _"You trust what she has to say!?"_ he barked and Lionel shook his head, because no, he didn't trust Natasha. Not yet anyway.

 _"I trust her mate… who Bruce and I had found hurt and almost broken because of a hunter hired by Shield to hunt down and kill Natasha and Pepper after they left when Natasha refused to take on the mission that was to hunt you and I down and bring us back to Shield."_ he said and Clint's breath caught in his throat, eyes wide as he stared at him before finally turning back to Natasha.

 _"Is… is that true…?"_ he asked, voice broken now and Natasha looked down and away, nodding her head.

"You're like my little brother Clint… I loved you… there wasn't any way I was going to hurt you and I tried to leave too, but I couldn't leave without Pepper." she trembled then and Clint took a single step forward, shifting into a human with uncertainty shining in his eyes. "I'm sorry… I… I'm so sorry…" she whispered and Lionel watched as Clint hugged her, tight, and they both cried.

-0-

Pepper and Natasha had joined their pack, weeks later and everything was as happy as could be. As it turned out, Tony and Pepper knew each other and though Tony had questioned why Pepper was a wolf, since she apparently used to be human, they became the best of friends again in no time. And everyone warmed up to the two, especially Pepper since Natasha was still as scary as hell, but Lionel still couldn't get one thing out of his head: Ultron, the ultimate wolf hunter that Shield had hired.

Because he knew who Ultron was, despite never having met the man before. Every wolf knew who Ultron was because no wolf ever survived an encounter by him, and if they did, as Pepper and Natasha had done, then Ultron would be back for them.

-0-

It was three months after Natasha and Pepper had settled in that Lionel was able to confirm his haunting thoughts. He knew that Ultron knew where they lived now, because of where he had attacked the two she-wolves and he knew that nothing was going to stop Ultron from killing them all now that Natasha and Pepper were part of their pack.

Lionel had caught the foreign scent first when he was patrolling the border on his own. He'd been on edge for months now and he wasn't sure if he was glad or distraught that his suspicions were proved correct when he found what he did. All along the border of their territory were dead animals, which meant that Ultron was either not just a hunter, but a wolf as well, or he had wolves with him.

He'd told Steve right away what he found and Steve had gone back to the border with him to survey what Lionel had seen.

For the next few days, Steve hadn't allowed anyone to go anywhere alone and for the next few days, Ultron had built up their guard until Lionel had noticed one day, that the pack was relaxed, as if the threat was over with.

But it wasn't, and he knew it wasn't. So he did the only thing he thought to do: he went out on his own to find Ultron and put a stop to whatever threat the hunter posed to his pack. And maybe his old Alpha tendencies never left him, or maybe he was still just as stupid and stubborn as he'd always been, but Lionel was never one to lie down or roll over and wait for the danger to come to them and destroy them.

He'll find Ultron and he'll protect his family, because that's what he's always done. Omega or not.

-0-

Lionel followed the scent until he came upon a camp a few miles from their border and he stiffened up when he saw Ultron, the man described in hundreds of wolf tales, and a few other hunters and wolves gathered with him. Suddenly he wasn't so sure if what he was about to do was any smart, well, of course it wasn't smart, but he had to do it. To protect his pack.

The small black wolf let out a sharp, loud howl before he suddenly pounced on the group, attacking Ultron outright. Ultron didn't give him another chance before he was thrown back onto the ground and guns and crossbows were suddenly aimed at him.

"Well, well, a little wolf has come to join our little gathering?" the deep voice purred and Lionel shivered as he got up, a little shaky with fear. "And an omega no less. What do you think you're going to do to me? Hm? A pathetic little wolf like you?"

 _"I'm going to tear you limb from limb to protect my family…"_ Lionel hissed and for a brief moment, he saw a little smirk light up Ultron's face and that confirmed his suspicions about the other being a wolf. It took no longer than a second before Lionel was suddenly lunging for Ultron once more, teeth bared and claws poised for the strike.

But Ultron was already so many steps ahead of him. "Ah ah, little wolf. If you kill me now… well, you'll never know where your little packmates are…" he purred and just like that, Lionel froze and stumbled over his own paws as fear coursed through him. "Yes, that's right. We already have two of your precious so-called family and I won't hesitate to kill either of them if you make even the slightest wrong move."

-0-

"Where is Lionel?" Freya questioned, yawning as she came into the kitchen to get herself some coffee. She hadn't seen Lionel at all since last night, but she wasn't too worried since the wolf slept in the oddest places sometimes.

"Never mind him, has anyone seen Loki or Tony? I've been meaning to talk to them about a slight upgrade to the mansion…" Clint hummed, looking around with a small frown and Freya narrowed her eyes.

"They're gone too?" she questioned just as Steve came in, looking a little worried.

"Hey Cap," Clint smiled before frowning when he caught the worried expression. "What's up?"

"Tony isn't with you guys, is he?" he asked, soft and unsure and when Freya and Clint shook their heads, Steve cursed to himself. "He wasn't in bed this morning when I woke up and he's not in his lab. Thor has asked where Loki is as well, since the wolf isn't with his mate or in the library."

"I can't find Lionel either," Freya admitted slightly to herself, trembling a little now and they all jumped a little when Natasha spoke up.

"They're… missing…?" she asked, frowning, with her eyes shining in worry and then suddenly they widened. "Ultron!"

"N-now wait a second Nat…!" Clint tried to calm her down when she started to shake with fear and anger. "M-maybe they just went out to patrol the borders?"

"This is Tony we're talking about. Tony doesn't patrol the borders without Steve. And Lionel hasn't patrolled them since he saw what he did a few days ago…" Freya said, frowning now and she looked to Steve, who had not said a word since Natasha had come in. "Alpha…?" she whispered and he snapped to attention, eyes hardened.

"Freya, Clint, Natasha, patrol the borders and notify me immediately of any changes. I'm going to find Thor and follow their scent to see if we can't track them down. Bruce and Mark will stay here and watch over the house and Pepper if anyone decides to attack while we're gone." he said, his tone of voice changing dramatically and his packmates all nodded, understanding the orders before moving out, each shifting into a wolf and prepared for the worst.

-0-

Lionel knew right there he was outnumbered, so he had done the only thing he could have then and there. He ran, with every intention of leading the hunters away from his pack and finding Loki and Tony. Because as scary as it was to admit it, he relied on Tony and Loki like he relied on Freya and Clint. They were his brothers… his family… and he wasn't about to let some hunters get away with even laying so much as a finger on them.

So he turned and ran and dodged the bolts and bullets sent his way easily as he leapt over logs and avoided twigs and bushes more efficiently than he had all those years ago, even months ago when running from Shield.

And the hunters, _Ultron_ , did exactly what he wanted them to do. They followed him.

-0-

The second that he smelt smoke and ashes, he knew then where he was going: to the old factory, abandoned, outside of the town that Tony's mansion was placed outside of. It was years old, having not been in use for years after the fateful accident that closed it down and nearly all had forgotten about it, but not Lionel, nor had Ultron it seemed.

He'd only gotten as far as the outline of the factory's territory before he had gotten caught, a wolf barreling into him and he furiously threw her off of him, scrambling up and he jumped out of the forest and into the large clearing before turning sharply, to face the hunters and to face Ultron once more. Only before they appeared, he let loose another howl; this one, long, loud, and desperate, before he lunged for the kill.

He would hold out. He would wait. Because he knew if everything went wrong, if all his plans failed him… his Alpha… and his family… would come save him.

-0-

They had heard the howl, of course they had. But they had also smelt the blood the second they crossed the border of their territory, following Lionel's scent to the hunter's camp. Steve bristled at the thought of his pack being captured, but he dared not think as such yet, and only gave Thor a sharp nod before darting back through the forest, following the scent and the black wolf's trail to the old factory.

 _"If they hurt them…"_ he growled out, unable to even finish the thought, anger boiling through his entire being and he went just that little bit faster.

-0-

Lionel held out for several minutes, dodging nearly every bullet and crossbolt aimed at him and he attacked anyone in his reach, the hunters backing him against the factory and close enough that the smell of smoke and ash nearly made him want to gag.

 _"You won't get away with this Ultron!"_ Lionel stalled, snarling at the largest of them all and Ultron smirked, only causing Lionel to bristle once more, _"My Alpha will be here any second and when he does-"_

"Your Alpha… Do you mean Steven Grant Rogers? The alleged super soldier and one famous Captain America before he went missing, six months after he was found in the ice?" Lionel froze then and he knew that was an immediate mistake when he was suddenly thrown back. "Or do you mean Thor? The supposed 'God of Thunder' who is mates with his own _brother_ , Loki Laufeyson… the almighty God of tricks and illusions? Or perhaps Natasha? The she-wolf who betrayed you all those months ago when you found out just exactly what Shield and Fury had been doing to all those poor wolves and humans with superpowers…" Ultron grinned wickedly and kicked Lionel again before the wolf could scramble away, delighting in the sound of pain ripped from him when he collided against the rusted metal walls of the factory. "Yes, _pup_ , I know all about your pathetic little pack, about your… so-called family. I know about every last one of them: the silly little grave-teller, Freya; poor _Clint_ who had his powers taken from him and given to others; or Doctor Banner whom used to be human and a lab rat of his own experimentations; Anthony, your precious little genius who has been on the run from so many people, and even Shield, because of you; Mark, who had been such a good little wolf before he lost everything, including his sense of smell, when his powers were taken from him; and dear little Pepper… who used to be such a proud human before she was _bitten_ by the very _woman_ she had taken as a _mate_."

Lionel snarled at Ultron when he got up, ears laid back and tail flicking back and forth dangerously. _"So what!? You know about my family and all their secrets? Who cares? It doesn't change the fact that when they get here… they're going to kick… your…"_ he gritted the words out, snapping the last word with his voice dripping in venom, _"...ass!"_

"Perhaps… perhaps not. But you won't be there to see the end. Because you see, _Lionel…_ I know everything about you too. And the second that this is put into your blood system… you won't be with your family any longer, not even in their final dying moments." Ultron laughed, tossing a vial of bright neon blue liquid in the air and Lionel, none of them, barely had a chance to react before Ultron was suddenly being tackled to the ground, the vial thrown from his hands and landing unharmed feet away from him, by Steve.

 _"Alpha!"_ And Lionel couldn't have been happier to see neither him nor Thor at that moment. And just like that, the fight had picked up. Every hunter in that clearing was suddenly pitched against Thor and Lionel as Steve tore viciously at Ultron's armor and what skin was visible.

Throwing Steve off of him suddenly, Ultron snarled back at the Alpha, grabbing his knives. "Well well well, if it isn't the soldier out of time… come to rescue your precious mate, have you?" he smirked viciously when Steve spat at him, snarling at the hunter in anger and fury.

 _"You son of a bitch!"_ Steve howled, loud and low and dark, before he launched at Ultron with everything he had.

-0-

Freya, Clint, and Natasha couldn't have run fast enough, after they had heard the first howl. And their fear and anger and worry had only spiked when they heard their Alpha.

-0-

Lionel yelped when he was struck with a knife before suddenly another wolf was tearing at him, as they rolled in the grass, tearing at each other with their claws and teeth. He barely even had time to register what was happening to his Alpha, or to Thor. He almost didn't realize that Clint, Freya, and Natasha had joined them until the wolf that had been digging into his belly was suddenly dragged off of him by Freya, her eyes narrowed and dark and her teeth bared in a vicious snarl.

He didn't even have time for a quick thank you before hunters were shooting at them again and they both dodged out of the way. Freya took off after another wolf who had aimed to attacked Clint and Lionel had darted away before aiming right for a few of the hunters that were supplying most of the ranged damage to his pack.

He ignored the hiss and sting of bullets grazing him and even the stray crossbolt that managed to dig into his skin before he had taken one hunter out of commission, but where one hunter fell, two had seemingly taken his place. But Lionel was determined to keep most of the damage done away from his packmates and he continued his strike, attacking hunter after hunter.

 _"Lionel!"_ Freya shouted at him and he yelped, thrown back from the distraction and he was suddenly cornered back against the factory once more.

 _"Is… is that all you got!?"_ Lionel barked, ears lowered and he was poised to attack at any given moment, though his fear spiked when he saw several guns aimed at him from the hunters surrounding him. He knew then that if nothing was done, then it would not be _poison_ that would kill Lionel, it would be nothing more simple than this. And he hated that with a passion, but he couldn't keep up the attack, not with so many hunters surrounding him then.

He had not even been given the chance to blink before suddenly a black blur had dropped down in front of him, between him and the hunters and a bright flurry of red and gold fire had surrounded them both as piercing screams of agony filled the air.

When the fire cleared, several hunters were either on the ground, fire still flickering from their bodies or were running away, weapons dropped as they clutched at their chests, arms, or heads. And Lionel shook as he looked up, crimson eyes wide when he saw exactly who saved him. _"Y-you… you saved me…"_ he whispered and the man only looked back at him, eyes colored blue, red, green, and gold glinting with something hidden before the stranger suddenly darted away, wind, and water, and earth, and firebending to his will as he fought hunters and wolves alike to save the wolves that were at such a huge disadvantage.

It was only then that Lionel noticed Clint and Natasha were gone and he realized they had used the fight as a distraction to sneak inside the factory and retrieve Tony and Loki from wherever they were being held.

"You insolent fool!" Ultron shouted at the stranger, who was now standing between a beaten down Steve and the hunter, fire building up from his hands and consuming his arms as his eyes flashed dangerously red. "You would protect a pack that is not your own!?"

"I would protect innocent wolves from monsters like you…" the stranger growled and Lionel watched in fear as Ultron jumped back, crossbow ready.

"Then you will _die_ because of your foolish naivety," the hunter snarled and everything happened so fast that Lionel almost didn't even register the moment he had gotten to his feet, shouting in fear and shock when he saw a bolt being released and he acted without thinking. He lunged at Ultron, tackling the hunter to the ground and they rolled about several times before suddenly Lionel had felt nothing but sharp pain blooming from his neck and he roared out in tattered agony before being thrown off of the hunter and against the ground. "You have brought this upon yourself… shifter…" Ultron hissed, standing up and glaring at the wolf that writhed and whimpered in pain because of the poison that had been injected into his veins.

 _"Lionel!"_ Steve howled out, standing up shakily before he suddenly turned on Ultron, eyes blazing and he roared. _"No!"_

Lionel opened his eyes the moment that sound seemed to white out for him, time seemingly slowing down and he watched in horror as more hunters came into the area. As Thor, Freya, and the stranger were outnumbered even with Thor's strength and the stranger's magic. As Steve was thrown back against a tree, the tree shattering in two and as Ultron grinned viciously at the Alpha.

"You have forced me to play a card I had no intention of playing tonight… but it looks like it's your lucky day, soldier." Ultron growled out, stepping back slowly and suddenly he began to shift. From human into something Lionel feared more than anything now; from human into a monstrous wolf that was larger than anything he'd ever seen before. _"It's time I taught you a lesson and it'll be one you never forget!"_

 _"No!"_ Lionel shouted as he watched Steve get tossed around like ragdoll but he never backed down and Lionel trembled, struggling to get up. _"Alpha!"_

"Steven!" Tony shouted, followed by a sharp cry as hunters had surrounded the newly freed wolves before they could even do anything. And before Lionel had even known what he was doing, he was back up on his feet and he felt something boil beneath his veins and for a split second he couldn't have been happier to know that Fury hadn't known animal venom never killed him.

It only seemed to make him angrier.

-0-

The second that Steve hit the ground and didn't get up, was the second that Ultron was knocked back to the ground, the small wolf surprisingly strong in his blatant anger, but Ultron was stronger. And he proved that by throwing Lionel off of him and the giant grey wolf snarled at the other, disbelief coloring his tone. _"You're supposed to be dead!"_ he snapped and Lionel growled, low and dark, crimson eyes blazing as he glared at Ultron, anger the only thing making itself known.

 _"There's one thing I forgot to mention to Fury…"_ the name was spat out as Lionel took a sharp step back, allowing himself room for what he was about to do without any thought, _"I'm immune… to animal venom!"_

Ultron watched with wide eyes as Lionel suddenly shifted, from wolf into dragon but his fear was replaced by anger soon after when the shifter roared at him, and he lunged at the other, using his strength to barrel into him and knock him back against the factory once more. _"I will enjoy killing you…!"_ Ultron snarled, tearing his teeth into Lionel's neck and the dragon roared out.

Lionel grabbed at Ultron's form and growled as he threw the wolf off of him and back into the fragile factory walls and he heard, just a second before Ultron get up exactly how fragile the walls were. He didn't have to be a genius like Tony to know that Ultron heard it too and he barely took a step back before Ultron was attacking him again and it was a battle of strength and stubbornness before finally Ultron won out, driving the dragon into the walls and collapsing into them.

Lionel heard, rather than saw, the destruction spur some of his packmates into action as they fought off some of the hunters holding them captive, but he paid no mind to them now as Ultron tore into his armored skin, snarling and snapping at him as Lionel snapped and snarled back. He had half a mind to use his fire, but in an old factory, that was never a good idea and so he stuck with his claws, teeth, and his strength to match Ultron blow for blow, hurting the wolf back when he hurt the shifter.

 _"You think… that you're the strongest of us all…"_ Lionel snarled, after having torn Ultron from himself and thrown him back against one of the broken silos in the factory, _"but you are nothing but a coward… hiding behind your strength and your size to win battles you have no right of winning!"_

 _"I am a hunter feared by all and respected by thousands! You are just a pathetic little wolf who wasn't even born from another! You were created! By a scientist you killed!"_ Ultron snapped and Lionel flinched before realizing his mistake a second too late as Ultron barreled into him and they crashed against several pipes and silos, gas filling the air around them and Lionel coughed harshly, eyes closed tight as he stumbled around.

Ultron attacked him from seemingly all sides and Lionel collapsed against the ground, with one particularly hard attack before he threw Ultron off of him against the pipes once more. _"This can only end one way…"_ Lionel snarled, forked tongue flicking out and he was threatening Ultron with something he wasn't sure he could survive himself. _"And it is not with you coming out alive…"_

Ultron growled and backed away, grey fur darkened with ash that had clung to his fur during the fight. _"What will you do?"_ Ultron taunted, eyes narrowed, teeth bared and Lionel would've thought he wasn't bothered by the gas if not for the way his nose twitched and his eyes watered. _"Burn the place down with your… fire…? You're a weakling Lionel! A coward! You have not the guts to do that! You'll kill yourself if you do and you couldn't bare to sacrifice yourself even to save the others."_

Lionel took a few moments, silent, as he stood up shakily and he shook his head, his wings ruffling and tail flicking back and forth as he flicked his tongue out once more. _"See… that's where you're wrong."_ he said, and took a single step forward when Ultron spluttered a sharp and dark protest.

 _"Y-you wouldn't dare!"_ his cries were drowned out by the sharp roar Lionel let out before suddenly, fire consumed the entire building faster than Ultron could run away.

-0-

The only warning any of them had before the building nearly exploded was the sound of Lionel's roar and they barely had any time to react before they were all thrown back by the force of the explosion that consumed the factory.

Time seemed to slow down for them all as they watched in horror. The hunters and wolves siding with Ultron that hadn't died or fled already, had ran the second they got up from the blast, leaving the others behind to deal with the scene before them.

"No!" Freya screamed, gearing to run inside the still flaming building, but Steve and Thor had to hold her back. Clint had broken down and clung to Natasha as Loki and Tony stared in horror, at the building, at the flames, and at the smoke.

"L-Lionel…" Tony choked out, tears flowing down his cheeks and he clenched his fists to his sides. "N-no… h-he can't be… he's not dead…!" Tony shouted suddenly, eyes closed tightly as he screamed and shouted at the fire, for Lionel.

After all this… Lionel couldn't be dead.

-0-

It had been hours before the building had been cleared to go into, by firemen and wolves with super abilities that were unique to situations like these. The entire pack had stayed outside the factory, near the edge of the forest: Bruce was holding Clint tightly as the omega cried; Loki was curled with Thor, refusing to even look at the factory; Tony was crying against Steve's chest, shaking terribly, his voice hoarse after several minutes of screaming for Lionel; Natasha held Pepper as the beta cried against her; and Mark held Freya tight to him, though she made not a sound, staring only at the factory with numbing silence, her eyes dull now as she seemingly stared through the smoke and ash.

The stranger only watched silently from the shadows, but he had been the first to notice when the firemen had discovered something that made them seem almost joyful

"We found something!"

"There's someone in here!"

"He's still alive!"

"Get EMT out here immediately!"

Though the stranger already figured this out, Clint was the first to truly hear all this, his head snapping up as he looked in the direction of the factory with wide eyes. Though they were filled with fear and hope, he wondered if the survivor was Ultron instead, but his fears were quelled immediately when the firemen had helped carry out a single small, ash colored wolf, limp in their arms.

"L-Lionel…" Clint choked out, clutching tightly to Bruce and the beta only breathed out a sigh of relief, when he saw the scene.

"Thank god…" Steve murmured softly and smiled down at his mate as Tony choked on his tears and his happiness. "He's okay… Lionel's okay…"

"It brings joy to my heart to see that our packmate has survived!" Thor boomed out and just like that, tension bled from their bodies as they laughed and cried. Freya uttered not a sound however, as she cried silent tears, watching as Lionel was dragged away to the hospital.

-0-

Three weeks. That's how long Lionel had been asleep, in the hospital, in Emergency, or ICU, or some other medical room or wing that none of his packmates cared to remember. He hadn't woken up since the firemen had found him, nor since the medical unit brought him there. He didn't even wake up during the countless of hours that the lawmen and the reporters had questioned his pack, asking them all questions that none cared to answer or couldn't answer.

 _'What happened?'_

 _'Why were you all at the old factory?'_

 _'What caused the fire?'_

 _'You're all covered in blood and injuries, care to explain why?'_

It was countless question after question, some repeats, and Tony had had enough of it all.

"My name is Anthony Edward Stark, son of Howard Stark and owner of Stark Industries and I'm here to tell you the truth. Because the truth is: my family was almost killed… by a psycho hunter hired by Shield and a man called Director Fury. Several of my pack were injured during this fight and one in particular is in care at the hospital." Tony bit out, closing his eyes tightly as he trembled, so as to not cry in front of the press. "He… he may _die_ because of what that bastard, what that hunter Ultron… and his boss had done and if he does," his eyes opened them and they flashed yellow for one brief second. "I will hunt you down, Fury. And when I do, you better fear my arrival because I will torture you and tear you limb from limb for what you did to my family."

He turned to walk away, ignoring the flashes of cameras and the shouts and callbacks of the reporters that had gathered outside the hospital. Finally getting inside, he collapsed against Steve and cried, trembling and shaking terribly. "Shh, baby, it's alright…" Steve whispered, hugging the man tight to him as he sighed before kissing Tony's head.

"H-he's going to m-make it… r-right? He… he _has_ to…" Tony whispered and Steve could only murmur encouragingly soft words to calm him mate down.

"Lionel… is one of the strongest omegas I know…" Steve whispered back and turned his head to look through the wide glass doors that led to the hallway that would take them to Lionel's room if they were allowed. "He'll make it…" he finished with a barely there breath, mostly to himself, but in a room full of wolves, there was no doubt his pack had heard him.

-0-

Fire. Smoke. Gas. Screams. Blood. That was what he saw, heard, and smelt. And it seemed to linger when he opened his eyes, bright white light flooding his vision and blinding him before he closed his eyes again, swallowing the scream he so badly wanted to let out. He trembled, the nightmare so vivid in his mind and his senses screamed for fresh air and for peace and quiet, but that awful smell of cleaning acids and terrible medicine lingered around him and that constant beeping pierced through his eardrums.

"You're awake," a soft voice reached him, through the beeping noise and he blinked his eyes open again, crimson flashing blue for a single moment before they cleared and his blurred gaze landed on a petite little doctor that was by his bedside. "That's good. We were getting worried you would not wake up." she smiled at him and he swallowed hard, trying to find his voice, but his throat and mouth were so dry, it hurt to make any noise. "Here, drink this, I'm sure it will help you." she added as she handed him a small cup of water and she helped him sit up to drink it.

Doing as told, he took the cup and drank it when he was upright, sighing softly when the cool water seemed to soothe his scorching throat and dry mouth. "Th-thanks…" he mumbled and she chuckled, nodding her head as she accepted the cup back and went to refill it, handing it back to him once she returned.

"Your vitals are stable, your injuries have mostly healed, aside from a few minor burns which is surprising all in itself. My sources say you were found only hours after a major fire broke out in the old factory, exploding the building, inside the factory. You must have a pretty high tolerance to fire or you somehow managed to find a way to escape the explosion from inside. You're friends were all worried about you-"

Lionel shot upright at that, eyes wide, before he suddenly hissed in pain and the doctor lady sighed, helping him back down with a bit of protest from the wolf. "N-no… you don't… don't understand… m-my pack…"

"Pack?" the doctor blinked before she suddenly smirked, hands on her hips. "Well I'll be. No wonder they were so adamant in refusing to let you be on your own. You've got quite the big pack, hun. And everyone of them out there genuinely cares about you, that's good." she chuckled and shook her head when he tried to speak up. "Don't worry sweetie, I'll let them in soon enough, but you've only just woken up. You need your rest-"

"I-I've been sleeping long enough…" Lionel muttered, ears lowered and he frowned at her, suddenly wanting to ask the one question that was plaguing his mind. "How… how long-"

"Three weeks." she answered solemnly. "Three weeks you've been asleep since the fire and two of those weeks we were trying so hard to keep you from the grasp of deaths hands. We weren't sure we had succeeded, well, until now, that is." she laid a hand on his shoulder and nodded her head. "Alright, I'll go get them. But they can't all stay here at once and you best tell them that they should all go home, get something to eat, clean up, and rest. Your pack isn't any good to you if they die of stupidity waiting for you to get out of here." she smirked and he only managed a weak chuckle, nodding his head and he watched her go, his stomach turning at the thought of seeing his pack.

How were they? Were they all here like she said? Even the stranger? How mad… was his Alpha at him? Even Freya, or Tony and Loki? What he did had been pretty stupid, but… how else would he have been able to end the fight? To kill Ultron he had to sacrifice himself and he had been all so willing to do that. Was still willing if it meant it would keep his pack safe.

"Y-you selfish, foolish bastard!" Loki hissed the second that he came into the room and Lionel flinched at the words and the venom in the others voice, but he said nothing back and only whimpered when Loki hugged him, tightly, before being joined by Clint, Freya, and Tony.

"Don't you dare do that to us again Lionel!" Freya glared through her tears at the guilty wolf. "Y-you don't just go into a factory and blow yourself up! Who the hell _does_ that sort of thing!?"

"I-I did it to get rid of Ultron-!"

"Ultron isn't _dead_ …" Lionel froze in his tracks then, eyes wide, when Freya snapped at him and he trembled.

"N-no… t-that isn't possible… h-he was there when I ignited the gas… h-he should be _dead_ … nothing but _ash_ …!" Lionel reasoned, before suddenly turning his wide eyes on Steve when he saw his Alpha. "A-Alpha… y-you have to believe me… h-he was _there_ …"

"I believe you, Lionel…" Steve said, sighing softly as he made his way to the bed, sitting on the side as his omegas, and Freya, all curled around Lionel. "But Ultron… the hunter… he wasn't there when the firemen found, ash or otherwise. I don't know how, but somehow he managed to escape."

"B-but that means… h-he can still…"

"Now you listen here, Lionel," Tony said sharply, eyes flashing yellow and Lionel whimpered, "what you did was stupid and insane and you're never allowed to do that again, no matter the consequences! You told me once that I needed my pack, but what you don't seem to understand is that you're as much apart of this pack as anyone else and I need you too… and if you… if you _die…_ because of your stupid, selfish actions…" Tony choked on his breath and Lionel couldn't help it as he hugged Tony tight to him, crying silently.

"I-I won't… I-I promise I-I won't…"

-0-

After several minutes of the pack all scolding him and crying over him, all so happy he was alive but so mad about what he did, Lionel, with the help of the doctor, had sent them all home to get cleaned up, to eat something other than hospital food, and to finally get some sort of peaceful rest now that he was fine and awake.

"You gave everyone quite the scare, Casanova." Lionel jerked his head up when he heard the voice and he smiled when he saw the stranger, leaning against the door, now closed to the outside world. "And I'm not sure if what you did was stupidly brave or bravely stupid. I'm betting on bravely stupid right now." he said with a smirk and Lionel blushed, looking down guiltily.

"What? Like what you did all those years ago to save me?" Lionel huffed and the stranger snorted, walking over to the bed.

"Ah yes, what does this make? The fifth…? time I've saved your ass?" he teased and Lionel stuck his tongue out at the other before looking up, about to counter until he saw the expression on the stranger's face. "Your pack weren't the only ones worried… Lionel…" he whispered, reaching out and cupping Lionel's cheek, wiping away a few stray tears.

"I know… I-I know… and I'm _sorry…_ " Lionel choked out, closing his eyes tightly. "I'm _sorry…_ Drake…"

-0-

Two weeks. Two more agonizing weeks until Lionel had been let out of the hospital and he was able to go home, back to his pack and their territory. And when he had gotten home, he couldn't have been happier, being doted upon by his pack and his Alpha.

Drake had disappeared again, but Lionel wasn't worried. Because sooner or later he would show up again, whether to save him from something else or just to check up on him. But he was finally happy and though he still worried about Shield, and about Fury and Ultron, he cared little about them because he had his pack. And as long as he had his pack, he had a family that he could protect with his life and that would protect him with theirs.


	2. Beauty

**Words:** 3,505

 **Rating:** T+

 **Warnings:** Yaoi (Boy Love), light Yuri (Girl Love), minor hurt/comfort, tooth-aching fluff, minor humor.

 **Summary:** Steve was proud, and very happy, to say that he saw beauty in every single one of his packmates.

* * *

Growing up, he had once been taught that the only thing omegas had were their beauty and their ability to carry pups, but looking at his pack, it showed him just how wrong those from his past had been. Because beauty was something he saw in every single one of his packmates, whether inside or out- among Alpha, beta, _and_ omega- and as their Pack Alpha, he prided in being able to see so much beauty within his pack.

-0-

Steven practically glowed with pride and warmth as he watched his pack interact with one another, and while he admitted they may not have gotten the best of starts, they were made for each other. No one could deny that. Least of all him. But looking now at them all, he was just so… _overjoyed_ , it was almost impossible to describe exactly how he felt.

They were all watching some movie that Steve had failed to recall the title of- something about a teenage robot boy that Lionel had especially taken an interest in. He was usually always the one that took the most interest in the animated family movies like that- sitting in various places in the living room, though they were all cuddled against one or two other packmates. Steve himself was sitting back in his own chair with Tony sitting comfortably in his lap and Lionel sitting pliantly on the ground in between his legs, nearly on top of his feet- not that the captain minded, since the young wolf barely weighed a thing to the supersoldier. Loki was sitting in Thor's lap, both on the couch, with Freya seated next to them and Clint's feet in her lap, his head in Bruce's lap- it was clear that he was sleeping soundly- who sat on the opposite end of the couch. On another chair sat Natasha with Pepper curled, asleep, in her lap, Mark sitting at her feet, much like Lionel at Steve's.

He wasn't really paying attention to the movie anymore, choosing to instead observe his family, as odd as they all were, smiling stupidly just at the thought. That they were his. _His_ family. _His_ pack.

"Mmn… Steve…?" Tony yawned, looking up at his mate with sleepy coffee colored eyes, a curious smile playing at his lips as he snuggled closer to the larger man.

"Yes?" Steve blinked, coming out of his thoughts, turning down to look at the omega in his arms, aware that the others were listening, especially as Lionel's ears perked up, if only just a little bit- Steve thinks he's still far too engrossed in the movie and is only just _barely_ listening to his Alpha and his best friend.

"What're you thinking about?" the omega asked, brushing his fingers lazily through Steve's hair, no longer paying attention to the movie. He'd seen it enough times to recall exactly how the movie goes and doesn't need to look back at the screen to know that Astro Boy was already in the arena, after having been outed as a robot. Besides, he's more interested in his mate- there's hardly ever a time when Tony doesn't have his attention, full or not, on the Alpha- and whatever was on his mind that caused the other to get that stupid- but too adorable for a grown man, even if it _does_ seem to work for him- smile on his face.

Steve chuckled and leaned down, nuzzling Tony's neck and breathing in his scent, letting his senses be filled with Tony and Tony only- somewhere in the back of his mind, he acknowledged that it wasn't just Tony, but he didn't ultimately care at the moment. "Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over," he whispered before placing a gentle kiss on Tony's shoulder, smiling a bit wider when he heard Natasha snort at his words and Lionel giggled as Freya snickered.

Huffing a little, Tony only offered half a protest to being called pretty, before relaxing fully into Steve's embrace, melting into a puddle of very pliant goo, it seemed. Steve only smiled wider at this, impossibly happier than he had been just a few seconds prior.

-0-

Freya's beauty came not from her looks or her mind, though there was no doubt that her beauty could rival even Pepper's, and that was saying something- Pepper was like the group's little sister, and her exceptional beauty was one of the many things that made the group just a tiny bit overprotective of her.

No, her beauty came from the way she looked at the world; like every day would be her last. She treated everything with extra care and expressed every emotion she carried with more flair than needed. Not only was it the way she saw things, but it was also the way she treated her packmates.

If Steve hadn't been soulbound with Tony, nor had never met his mate, he was sure that he would've loved to go out with the she-wolf. It only increased his love for her the way he saw how she took care of the pack, like she was their mother and it made his heart swell with pride. It didn't even matter that she wasn't an Alpha, because everyone saw that she knew exactly who she was, in her heart and her mind, the way she moved without hesitance in her actions.

She was protective, kind, caring, loyal, and everything that Steve would've sought out, once upon a time. And she knew that, enough to the point that when she caught him smiling at her with love and pride, she smiled back and shook her head fondly at her Alpha.

So yes, Freya was beautiful, and yes, once upon a time maybe, but that time had past and he couldn't be happier with how everything turned out- especially since, now and forever, he wouldn't ever give Tony, or his pack, up for anything in the world.

-0-

Clint and Natasha had their own beauty to them as well, and not just because of Natasha's beautiful looks or her impressive skill, mind, and grace or Clint's innocence and occasionally brilliant mind. They showed their beauty with the way they reacted around each other; Steve knew their story very well, after Lionel had told him what he'd known and then had gotten the missing details from the ex-agents themselves. And it warmed his heart to know that even after everything they went through together, they were inseparable now.

If one didn't know they weren't blood related, they would swear that Clint and Natasha were siblings, ones who had never left the other's side no matter what.

-0-

Bruce was an odd sort, even to Steve, but the ex-labrat was beautiful too, the Alpha knew that for a fact. His mind was brilliant- proven several times when Steve had witnessed Tony and him discussing something that was beyond Steve's comprehension- and he enjoyed watching that little smile flit over the beta's face when he was doing something he enjoyed.

The other wolf may have been shy and somewhat anti-social, even around his own pack, but they were working on that. He even had the worst temper out of all of them, aside from Mark's own impressive temper, and while sometimes they had to lock the wolf up when he shifted out of pure anger, they were working on that too.

Bruce had once confided in him, saying once that he didn't deserve them, but Steve would have none of it. Steve had told him, firm and with purpose and confidence in his every word, that Bruce was their family and they all loved him just as much as the rest. Bruce hadn't doubted his place in the pack since.

-0-

Loki and Thor were two mysteries that Steve had never been able to figure out and while he was still wary of the, after having discovered that the two wolves were of a different planet, he treated them just as he did anyone else in their pack. He saw beauty in them as well.

He saw beauty in the way that Thor would light up and declare his emotions very loudly and with obvious excitement, when Thor discovered some sort of new Midgardian thing and finally tried it. And he saw beauty in the way Thor proclaimed his absolute love of the simply pastries that were poptarts. He also beauty within the god of thunder when, on the rare occasion that it rained without thunder or lightning, Thor would stay outside under the downpour for hours, simply grinning like an idiot, his arms stretched out as the rain thoroughly soaked him.

In Loki he saw beauty not only in his feminine appearance, but also in those beautiful green eyes of his that looked as if they held all the world's secrets in them. While the trickster god wasn't much of an open book with his body language and his words, his eyes expressed all that Steve needed to see or hear and that was enough for the Alpha. He also saw Loki's beauty when the young god was simply just sitting in the living room, a book in his hands, a joyful, though quiet, smile on his face as he read it; or when Loki was sitting with Lionel and Tony, simply enjoying their company with all that he had.

But what made Steve really notice their beauty was when they were together, their love shining brighter than anything he'd ever seen and it made him feel as if he was witnessing one of the world's greatest wonders. And if seeing their love made Steve's heart ache and yearn for his own Tony, well, no one but him and his beloved had to truly know.

-0-

With Mark, Steve saw beauty in the other wolf's ruggedness, with the way he would act in the world, around both strangers and pack alike. Mark was so expressive, not through words but through his actions, that everyone in the pack knew what mood he was in just by looking at him. Steve also noticed the other's beauty in his strength; the way that he would carry himself, opening up to his pack a little more each day, strong and sure, even with his sense of smell gone, _taken_ from him.

And Steve's heart swelled with pride whenever he saw Mark playing around with his packmates, laughing and grinning and finally being himself.

-0-

Pepper was one of the few that he saw beauty in with everything that she did; the way she carried herself, or the way she acted, or looked. She was beautiful in appearance, mind, and heart and that made Steve- among the other's in his pack- all the more protective of her. She was like their adorable little sister, the one they all looked after no matter what happened and the one that they would take care of always.

It didn't help any that she used to be human as well- and though she protested kindly to this fact, none of them could deny that her strength didn't quite match the others in her pack.

It was only Natasha- her mate, of course-, Steve- her Alpha-, and Freya- who acted as a mother hen to everyone in the pack- that payed extra care to her. And if that ever bothered her, well she never mentioned it, and instead only embraced their love and protection.

-0-

Lionel was the one that Steve had paid special attention to- though not on purpose he would admit and he hadn't even noticed at first how he'd acted around the omega until Freya and Loki had pointed it out o him one day. The shifter was much like Pepper, in the fact that he was like the little brother of the group, the one that they all cared for and loved unconditionally and the one they tended to spoil a little more than they cared to admit.

Steve saw beauty where most wouldn't, having spent months observing the way the young omega acted, around his pack and even when the omega thought he was alone. He saw beauty in his looks- with his long black hair that was always tied in a ponytail and his beautiful crimson eyes that told Steve stories he would never hear come from the shifter himself- and in his mind- though Lionel would deny that he was any smart, the other's in his pack had noticed that the shifter was clever, due to his years of having been a street rat, needing to using his wit and cunning to survive on his own for the amount of time he had- and especially in his heart- the way he cared for and loved every single one of his pack mates like they actually _were_ his family and the way he treated each of them like they would all disappear if he so much as even _thought_ of doing something mean or unkind.

Steve had noticed that Lionel had many masks, though, over the months they spent together, and after all that they'd been through. The shifter would sometimes smile when he felt like crying and he would laugh when he felt like breaking down. When he was hurt, he took care of everyone else before even _thinking_ of taking care of himself, a bad habit that Steve, Tony, Loki, and Freya all were trying to get him to break. And he'd have this other bad habit of trying to do things himself, when he thought it would hurt his packmates or get them into trouble, something Steve hated more than knowing how much Lionel almost _didn't_ trust them with his heart.

They all knew the shifter was broken, badly so, and in need of repair, and they all tried, and while sometimes they thought they were succeeding, there were times when all of their hard work was all for naught and they would be back to square one.

Lionel didn't even know how much he meant to his pack, oblivious as he sometimes was. And that broke the Alpha's heart a little, knowing that even after all that happened to Lionel, all that broke him, he was still so innocent and still so beautiful.

If only Lionel could see what the others saw, then maybe the young man wouldn't feel the need to keep the walls around his heart up and let himself be loved like how he loved his pack.

-0-

Tony though, his beloved omega, was everything to Steve- his best friend, his lover, his soulmate, his _everything_ \- and the Alpha couldn't get enough of him. He saw beauty in everything Tony was and everything he did; from the way that his eyes twinkled when he played with his pack, to the way that his would get so animated when he talked about something he loved- including the way that he would talk so fast almost none of them would be able to understand them, aside from Bruce, and how his hands and arms would fling out everywhere, gesturing wildly as he talked. He saw beauty in the way that Tony's entire body shook when he laughed or when his eyes crinkled in the corners when he grinned wide and proud, his chest puffed out a little when Steve praised him, or when he would express every emotion so passionately around his pack. He loved the way that Tony sometimes grew shy when Steve whispered words of his love in his mate's ears, especially around his packmates, and the way that he blushed when Steve would tell him how beautiful or pretty he was. He even saw beauty in the way that Tony would sometimes stare off, sadly, into the distance, thinking about all that he had once lost so long ago; when this happened, Steve took great pleasure in taking Tony's mind off of his thoughts and reminding him exactly of what he has here- an incredible mate, amazing best friends, and the greatest pack a wolf could ask for. Steve might admit he's a little biased with all three of those, but it seems to work well enough anyway when he brings them up to his mate, cheering him up greatly.

But there was one thing that Steve loved more than he could ever admit- though he's told Tony enough times that _surely_ the other wolf knows how much he does by now- and the one thing he sees so much more beauty in than the rest of him. And Steve took great pleasure in expressing his words of love and exactly what he thought each night when they went to bed- when Tony still tried to hide his chest from him even after all these years.

It was something that pained Steve too, as much as he hated to admit so. The reactor in his lover's chest was beautiful, and the scars around it even more so, but Tony never could get his mind around that fact. Not since he'd told Steve all those years ago how much he hated it, how he saw it as ugly and disgusting. But it was the exact opposite, no matter how many times Tony tried to say it wasn't.

The reactor was the reason that Tony didn't often shift anymore, not unless they were to go on patrols or they were playing around the yard on the rare occasion when he wasn't working on some new gadget. Because Steve had learned that whenever Tony shifted, it hurt the smaller wolf, the reactor pressed against his insides sometimes, making it tight and hard to breathe, even if only for a few seconds before his body readjusted to the change.

Sometimes though, Steve had to admit that even he didn't like the reactor, because it caused his lover great pain. But without it, his mate wouldn't be alive, so he was thankful for it and he loved it because of that.

"You're staring again," Tony murmured, from his spot on the bed, looking at Steve in the dark, coffee eyes barely illuminated by the soft blue light from the reactor in his chest. Steve smiled, from his spot in the doorway, before he finally moved, closing the door behind him. Pulling his shirt off, he advanced towards his mate before crawling onto the bed, chuckling when Tony hummed in appreciativeness.

"Can you blame me?" Steve asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned down for a kiss, one that Tony delighted in giving. "I have the most beautiful man in the world as my mate, I'm entitled to a little staring sometimes." he added with a smirk and only pulled back when Tony sighed. "What…?"

"Quit saying that…" Tony grumbled, looking forlorn and put out, crossing his arms over his chest now, a subconscious gesture that made Steve's heart ache and he whined, nuzzling Tony's neck to show his disapproval.

"Tony…" he frowned into his mate's skin, moving Tony's arms away from his chest and shifting himself so he could hold them down on the bed, his weight equally distributed so he wasn't crushing Tony as he laid himself down. "Please don't… not tonight…" he whispered, pleadingly and Tony tensed up, turning his head away. "Why… why can't you see what I see?" Steve added after a few minutes of silence.

"You're delusional Steve…" Tony muttered, voice flat even though Steve knew he was trying to joke, to move on from the subject and the conversation soon to take place, like it did almost every night.

"Tony…" Steve growled then, grip tightening just a little on the omega's wrists, nipping his lover's skin with his sharp canines, enough that it made Tony whine and tilt his head to the side in a submissive gesture. His inner wolf was immensely pleased by the action, but he was still very upset, knowing how his lover saw himself and that made Steve's heart ache all the more. "You're beautiful, Tony… _all_ of you. Not just your looks, or your brilliant mind, or even your heart, but _all_ of you. _Including_ this…" he said, moving one hand, releasing Tony's own, to place it gently over the metal in the middle of Tony's chest.

Tony sighed and only stayed silent, staring sadly at Steve when the Alpha pulled away, moving his free hand gently to cover the one on his chest. The Alpha let the silence ring on, knowing it was at least better than Tony arguing with him again, and he really didn't want to fight with his mate, not tonight. So he accepted it and leaned down to kiss the omega, before shifting over so he was lying beside Tony.

"Beautiful," he repeated stubbornly, nuzzling into Tony's hair, wrapping his arms around his mate and pulling the smaller man tight against his chest. Tony only sighed again, shaking his head with a fond smile as he pulled the covers up over them, before placing a gentle kiss on Steve's chest, burrowing into it and making himself comfy.


	3. Sleep

**Words:** 4,331

 **Rating:** T

 **Warnings:** Yaoi (Boy Love), light Yuri (Girl Love), hurt/comfort, barely there angst, tooth-aching fluff.

 **Summary:** Lionel was afraid to sleep, but with his pack and his family with him now, maybe he wouldn't have to be.

* * *

Ever since he could remember he'd spent restless nights in his cage, at the lab, always afraid to sleep especially when his creator, the Doctor had still been around, footsteps and mutterings registering in his ears, along with the noises other creatures or experiments made. And even when he'd escaped, he'd had nightmares, enough so that he eventually became too tired to sleep and never tried until he absolutely had to. That never changed, not even now, though he was trying desperately, staying under the same roof as his pack, knowing that they'd protect him if something was wrong, but also knowing no one could protect him from his nightmares, still lurking in the darkest depths of his mind even after all these years.

-0-

Lionel had always been afraid to sleep, that much was true, and even though he had never admitted it out loud, his pack had eventually found out that he was never quite getting enough sleep on his own. Of course, he'd tried putting up one of his masks, saying he was fine, but none of them, not even him, could deny that he was exhausted.

That was how his pack had tried to come up with the ever-so-brilliant plan to get him to sleep. And while normally none of their attempts worked, there were a few times that Lionel had to admit that worked better than he would've thought possible.

-0-

The first time his pack had tried to get him to settle down for at least a nap, since they had discovered just how little he sleeps on his own, it ended up being Freya and Clint's fault. But in truth, it was Clint that had somehow managed to set off the ticking time bomb that had been Lionel after he'd stayed up after waking from a nightmare involving his past and what the Doctor had done to him all those years ago.

"You're ridiculous," Clint grumbled, glaring petulantly at the wolf sitting curled up on the couch. Lionel's ears only twitched in answer, as he stared at the tv, unable to register what was on, not caring what Freya and Clint were watching. "Just go the fuck to sleep, seriously. It's not that big of a deal." Because to Clint, it wasn't. He didn't know what Lionel went through every time he closed his eyes and fell into the hell that was waiting for him. He couldn't, but that never stopped the reaction it earned from Lionel when he said things like this.

Lionel growled at him, eyes narrowed and ears lowered, tail flicking back and forth agitatingly. Freya frowned when she saw him and sighed, shaking her head at Clint. "Come on, just leave him alone. He'll sleep when he sleeps." she urged, but Clint wouldn't let it go.

"No, come on Freya, he's been up for god knows how long. Just look at him. He hasn't shifted back into his human form since four days ago. He won't even _talk_ to anyone now." Clint growled himself, shifting his glare into a dangerous one back at Lionel, who turned his head away, eyes closed, but any fool could see that he wasn't going to sleep. He was only trying to ignore his packmate. And that only pissed the archer off further, and he stood up, finally having had enough, "Alright, that's it Lionel, you're going to go to sleep even if I have to- _fuck_ …!" he cried out, loudly in pain, the volume rivaling that of the harsh bark Lionel let out when he' turned so sharply, snapping his teeth at Clint's outstretched hand when the other man had tried to grab at the fur on his neck. "What the _fuck_!?" Clint hissed at him, clutching his hand close to his chest even as Freya rushed over to try and mother him, worried, and while instincts told her to be mad at what had hurt Clint, she could only feel the worry seeping in when she glanced back at Lionel, only to see the pure fear and pain flash across his face before he suddenly darted away and into another room.

Lionel hadn't shown his muzzle to his pack the next two days, more than enough time for Clint to have calmed down and for him to realize that what he'd done had been a very stupid move on his part. And he should've realized that sooner, too, but he hadn't because he'd been so worried for his packmate, knowing that the shifter hadn't slept any at all in such a long while.

So when he finally saw Lionel crawl out of whatever hole he'd kept himself in, he had only had to take one look at the other wolf to know how sorry he was, that Lionel had bit him.

Clint forgave him instantly, and after leading the shifter to his room, away from the eyes of the others, he let Lionel curl up with him on the bed. Lionel had shifted back into his human form almost immediately, silent tears crawling across his cheeks. "I'm s-sorry…" he whispered and Clint only held him tight, whispering words of reassurance and forgiveness and worry, until the shifter finally fell asleep, Clint following soon after.

-0-

The second time, he might have admitted to himself that maybe he _had_ waited too long, even by his standards. Nearly six days he'd gone without sleep, and while he'd tried to make excuses, he knew they wouldn't work this time.

Those first few days were fine at first: he'd woken up from a small dreamless nap, that lasted probably less time than it should have, but he'd been fine, and then he'd gone out on a hunting trip with Natasha and Freya. 'Girls Time Out', they'd called it, much to his chagrin. But again, he'd been fine. Then after the hunt, they'd played games after eating their catches. And when night came, he went out on a patrol with his Alpha and with Clint and Mark tagging along.

He'd managed to distract himself with whatever little gadget Tony had in the house, despite Jarvis' protests for him to sleep- he somehow had made an agreement with the AI where Jarvis wouldn't tell the others that he wasn't sleeping when he should and he would keep Tony from actually trying to dismember him when the omega got too pissed for even Steve to handle- while the others were sleeping and that was fine with him.

The next day, he had played with his pack, watched movies with them, hung out with Tony and Bruce down in the lab, and trained with Steve, Thor, Natasha, and Mark. By the time night came, he repeated the process, this time adding midnight talks with Jarvis. When the third restless night came, he added a midnight run to his nighttime ritual, chasing away the exhaustion he felt creeping in.

"Master Lionel," Jarvis sighed, talking with Lionel one night, and the shifter blinked sleepily, looking up at the ceiling, his ears lowered to his head and his tail sitting limp beside him, hanging over the edge of the couch, "would you like me to read you a bedtime story? It would, perhaps, help you to fall asleep." he suggested, having long since forgone telling the shifter how low his vitals have gotten with each allnighter he's pulled since day one.

Immediately Lionel shook his head and sighed, standing up and stretching out, "No, thank you Jarvis, but… I don't want the nightmares to return," he said, softly in a whisper, before shifting into a wolf and he went out for a run, leaving Jarvis to wonder if perhaps, he should break their little agreement, just this once.

When Lionel had hit the six day mark, he was so exhausted, he had barely been able to see straight, out on a hunt with his Alpha and with Thor as well. He had never even noticed that Thor had been in the shadows, witnessing his clumsiness and his pathetic attempts to hunt. Eventually, he'd taken pity on the tired wolf and had helped, unknowing to Lionel, planting an incredibly weak rabbit in a nearby bush and while he felt bad, the shout of triumph and pleasure from the smaller wolf was well worth the guilt for having tampered with the hunt.

When night had fallen, and everyone else had gone to sleep in their own prospective rooms, Lionel had stayed out in the living room, staring blankly out of the large glass windows that framed a portion of the wall in front of him. "Master Lionel, would you like me to put on a movie?"

"No thank you Jarvis…" Lionel answered with a yawn.

"Would you care for some music? I know Anthony prefers his music to the quiet when working down in the lab," Jarvis tried again and was met with another polite 'No, thank you,' and he was running out of ideas. "Perhaps you should rest then, it is not healthy for you to continue this any longer."

This got a reaction out of him, different from the rest and if the AI had a heart, it would have surely broken at the small barely there whimper. "I… I-I can't…" he curled in on himself then, ears lowered and tail curled around his legs when he pulled them up to his chest. "H-he's always _th-there_ … a-and I just… I-I _can't_ …"

Jarvis, no longer having the 'heart' to listen to the young wolf;s cries, finally broke and did what he said he wouldn't, but he started small and only just decided to wake the one he knew would help the exhausted, scared pup to sleep.

"Master Loki," Jarvis called out, immediately alerting the wolves within the small room. Loki woke up when he heard the voice and frowned, his grip tightening on Thor's shirt when the blonde Alpha sat up, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm afraid that Lionel acquires your assistance."

Thor frowned, knowing immediately why Jarvis had finally alerted one of them and knew also why he chose to call on Loki, instead of their Alpha. Thor only wished it hadn't gotten to this point, but he knew that there was only so much a wolf like the young shifter could take. Turning to Loki, his heart melted a little at the clear pain written in the raven haired man's expression, at hearing that Lionel needed him, so he smiled and brushed away Loki's hair before getting up. "Come on my love, let us see to Lionel," he whispered and Loki nodded his head, staying silent as he followed after the Alpha.

Loki made a noise he would forever deny was a clear broken hearted whine when he saw Lionel curled up on the couch, muttering to himself, clearing frightened and very clearly desperately exhausted. Approaching the younger wolf, the god sat gingerly on the couch and the second he touch Lionel's shoulder, the shifter launched himself into Loki's arms, knowing his scent and seeking the comfort that came with it. " _Please…_ " he whispered, choking on the word and Thor finally moved in, curling himself around both his love and the shifter.

"Shh, we are here," Thor murmured, not letting go, even when both omega's shifted into their wolf forms, curling around him. It took over an hour, but Lionel had finally passed out from exhaustion, followed by Loki. When the two omega's were sound asleep and Thor was sure neither of their sleeps would be disturbed, he shifted into his own wolf form, his form much larger than the two omega's and curled tightly around them, one paw over Lionel's body, head resting comfortably over Loki's neck and his tail curled gently around both of them.

-0-

The third time, he hadn't meant to fall asleep, but he'd been so exhausted and what had happened, it had wore him down until he had been barely hanging by a thread. Natasha had to leave, going undercover in a human facility that hunted wolves and experimented on them. Neither Clint nor Pepper had taken it well but whatever Clint felt, it was ten times worse for Natasha's mate.

Pepper had been so out of it the first few days, hurt but fine for the most part, but then their bond started to hurt her in a way that the pain of knowing that Natasha was gone never did. And it affected the pack, but most of all, it affected Lionel, the wolf that never slept, because he knew what it was like to be away from your mate. His own was always gone, not far usually, but gone nonetheless and that hurt him far worse than anything he could ever imagine.

So he knew, he _understood_ what Pepper felt, but that hurt no less when he heard her cries one night, howling to the sky and to her mate in hopes she would hear them and come back home to her.

He stood in the shadows, several feet from where she was, in her own wolf form, sitting at the edge of the rooftop of the mansion, howling to the empty night sky, pain and longing in her voice. He could only watch for several moments before her cries broke his resolve and, without a sound, he padded over to where she sat and howled with her, until both of their voices could handle it no more and he finally curled up with her, letting her cry into his fur.

 _"I… I-I miss her…"_ she whimpered and he only nuzzled the fur on her neck, before turning to the night sky, frowning, because he _knew_. He stared up at the sky, even hours after Pepper had fallen asleep, before he too succumbed to the exhaustion that had eaten away at him for hours beforehand.

-0-

Lionel had been missing him terribly, in the months that had followed the events of Ultron and what had happened at the factory. At first, it had just been another dull ache after being separated again from his mate- he always hated acting like they were nothing more than friends, or acquaintances, and it killed him inside when his Alpha left him on his own, but he knew why and he accepted it, no matter how hard it was to.

So, sitting on the rooftop, only a week after comforting Pepper, he was tempted to howl, but he kept quiet, knowing that it wouldn't help. His Alpha had been gone long enough that the pull of their bond was tight and it hurt too much to even try and figure out how far away the other wolf was from him. Even if he'd been at full strength and full awareness, he wouldn't have been able to tell how close his Alpha had been to him.

Which was why it had startled him so much when he heard the other's voice, only two feet behind him and he jumped, letting out a startled yelp. "What are you doing out of bed, pup?" his Alpha chuckled, reaching out and taking Lionel's arm gently into his hand, turning the smaller wolf to look at him and Lionel's heart tugged at the sight of the raven haired man before him. "Don't you know what time it is?"

And Lionel immediately launched himself at the other, crying out in absolute happiness, that it warmed Drake's heart, his inner wolf positively howling with love and excitement at having his mate in his arms and so close to smell his scent.

"I missed you too, Leo," he grinned, all perfect white teeth, but Lionel didn't care because none of the details mattered when the omega finally had what he wanted. "Have you been taking care of yourself?" At least, he _hadn't_ cared until he heard this, and almost immediately his inner wolf cowered at the prospect of angering or worrying his mate if he answered with the truth.

"I-I… i-it's… I-I just… I f-forget sometimes… a-and then t-the nightmares… b-but my pack takes care of me when I forget… even if I can't sleep…" he said, stuttering out the truth and Drake only sighed, feeling guilty and disheartened at hearing as such. He ignored the momentary jealousy at hearing that other wolves were taking care of Lionel, of his mate, instead of him, but he knew this was the way it had to be.

"Shh, it's okay, I'm not mad with you, I promise," he whispered when Lionel whimpered at his tight grip. "I just wish… that things could be different," he added in a murmur leading the smaller wolf over to the small walled stairway that led back inside the mansion. Lionel went wordlessly, making a small noise in answer when Drake made them sit, with Lionel curled in his lap, the larger man's arms wrapped protectively around the omega, "We're mates, you and I. I love you, but I can't even be around you for so long and that hurts me… and I know it hurts you too, and I'm so sorry…" he cooed and Lionel's only answer was to bury his face in Drake's neck, nuzzling him tiredly. "Sleep, love, I'll…" he paused and Lionel looked up at him, pleading with him, so he kissed his forehead, then his nose, then cheek, and finally his lips, delighting in the blush, the smile, and the noise of happiness Lionel made, "I _promise_ you, I'll be here when you wake."

Lionel was out like a light within the first minute of finally settling back into his mate's comfortable embrace.

-0-

Drake had been there when he woke up and had stayed for a few hours before he had to disappear again, but Lionel had been relatively happy for the rest of the day, enough to where, when it finally came for bedtime the next night, he hadn't stayed up and instead had fallen asleep in his own room, for the first time in months.

It turns out, that had been the worst thing he could have possibly done.

When he had fallen asleep in his bed, as peaceful as he could be without his mate's comforting presence, he had found himself trapped and clutched tight within the embrace of the shadows and the darkness that had threatened to consume him whenever he slept.

 _There was a voice- sometimes muttering, sometimes talking out loud, other times laughing maniacally in the darkness- and footsteps- heavy and daunting, somewhere far off to the side- and there were other noises- belonging to strange creatures._

 _He felt pins prickling at his skin, needles digging into his body, sharp or blunt objects making contact with his person. He had screamed for hours, cried into the night, whimpered all through the days._

 _And then there was nothing, for days on end, until finally there was something that broke the silence. Bangs and shouts and cries- inhuman it seemed- and there was fire and smoke and burning metal against his skin and he tore into something as he tried to escape it all, liquid- sticky and warm- against his hands and his exposed skin._

He awoke, his senses heightened and he clutched tightly at his bed, panicking- his heart raced and his lungs were trying to grab at air that just wasn't there.

He remembered the blood, and the fire, and the screams… and he knew that he had killed him, even though he couldn't remember ever doing so.

He didn't even register what he was doing until suddenly he was in front of his Alpha's door, and he choked on his breath, the tears staining his pale, but flushed cheeks, eyes watered and clouded, the flashes of his nightmare still running through his mind, fresh as they ever could be. But once he realized where he was, he couldn't turn back, because he knew he needed this.

His hand was poised and ready to knock, and had been for several seconds, as he tried to work up his nerve to do this one simple thing, but he couldn't. At least, not until he heard shuffling from inside the room, and his ears lowered, his tail curling tightly around his legs, choking on his tears when he suddenly was met with Steve's concerned face the second he opened the door. "Lionel…?" he questioned, looking panicked for a brief moment, wondering if danger was around, but after a few moments he knew immediately what had the young omega at his door this late at night. "The nightmare again…?" he whispered and though he wasn't looking for an answer, Lionel nodded anyway, sniffling as he wiped his tears.

"C-can I… p-please I…" he tried to get out, but failed and Steve sighed, before nodding his head and he looked back into the room, at the clock, frowning at it.

"Come on then, let's go get Tony okay? It's about time he came to bed anyway," he said, gently, as he led the sniffling omega down to the labs, Lionel giving no protest. He desperately needed the distraction and if that included walking with Steve to get Tony, then he would do that, without a complaint. Reaching the doors, he was about to punch in the code before the suddenly opened, thanks to Jarvis' silent command and Steve smiled appreciatively up at the ceiling, at the AI, before herding Lionel into the room, though Lionel chose to hide behind Steve when they came into the suddenly dark lab.

It would have looked as if no one was there if it weren't for the blue lights of the holograms Tony was working on in one of the corners. The quiet was also unnerving for the omega, but the scent of the lab calmed him just a little, of Tony and Bruce and Steve and the bots all mixing into the air, letting him know he was home and safe with his pack.

"Tony, babe, come on, it's time for you to come to bed," Steve said, chuckling when Tony muttered in answer, hands moving swiftly over the floating holoscreen in front of his face.

"In a minute Steve, I'm just on the verge of discovering-"

"Anthony," Steve interrupted him and Tony whirled around sharply, eyes narrowed, at the commanding tone, before they widened when he saw Lionel, with tear-stained cheeks, lowered eyes, and a frightened look about him, behind his mate.

"Oh." he said, suddenly feeling guilty and he swallowed hard, looking back at his program before making the choice as easily as it was for him to breath, rushing over to the other two, wordlessly telling Jarvis to take care of the program for him. "I'm sorry…" he apologized, looking at Steve, who only smiled sweetly at him, and then to Lionel, offering a gently smile at the other omega. "Come on, we best get to bed then. No use waiting down here all night, any longer," he chuckled, receiving a little smile from Lionel for his troubles, before he began tugging both Steve and Lionel towards their bedroom.

Years ago Tony would've found the thought of another grown wolf sharing a bed with him and his mate, but knowing Lionel and knowing how he got and how he sometimes acted, all the awkwardness he should have felt was never there. Not even when Lionel curled up in the middle of both Tony and Steve on their bed, much like a little kid would with their parents, either after a nightmare or because of a bad storm.

But he never complained, not once, because that meant that one way or another, Lionel was getting sleep, and so was he and he couldn't think of a better place to be than there, with his two most favorite wolves in the entire world.

-0-

If Lionel were to tell you the truth, he'd tell you that sleeping around his pack was getting easier now, the longer he stayed with them, safe from everything the world had to offer him. But that never meant his nightmares went away, no, because they lurked there, in the back of his mind and sometimes when he slept he would still get them. But he relished in the moments that he didn't get them; where he didn't have to deal with the Doctor or his lonely days of being a street rat. And especially from the nightmares with Ultron, finally managing to take his family from him.

His pack still had to force him to sleep sometimes, when he forgot that he could be safe with them, that he _was_ safe with him. But he had to admit, that there were times, rare as they were, that Lionel slept willingly, without anyone having to tell him to do so or drag him to bed with them.

And those times were what he treasure most with his family, because that meant he could just relax and be himself, knowing he was safe from harm and from his nightmares.

So when, one night, he found his pack curled up in the livingroom, all shifted and in a rather large dog pile, he couldn't help the smile on his face as he watched them, overjoyed that this was his family.

 _"...Leo…?"_ Loki whispered, blinking emerald eyes open sleepily before he suddenly shifted and Lionel couldn't help the warmth that swelled in his heart at the gesture. So he shifted, easily into his wolf form and slowly and silently crawled over to the other omega, taking his spot wordlessly beside him, curled next to him, Mark, and Clint.

The next morning when he woke- he hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep in the first place- he found himself, somehow, in the middle of his pack, at the very heart of it, surrounded by his family and their love and he had never felt happier.

He even felt that he could sleep for days and would never have to worry about another nightmare again, and as long as he was surrounded by his pack, he never did.


	4. Gardens

**Words:** 2,583

 **Rating:** T

 **Warnings:** Yaoi (Boy Love), light Yuri (Girl Love), hurt/comfort, barely there angst, tooth-aching fluff.

 **Summary:** The pack desperately needs a vacation and Tony is there to help provide one for them.

* * *

It had been months, around seven, give or take a week or so, since the incident with Ultron that landed Lionel in the hospital and had sent the pack on edge for so many of those months. It had taken awhile for them to relax in their own territory and though, now, they were getting back to their normal routine, before all of that had happened, it was obvious, to all of them, how much they all needed a vacation. It was just a matter of finding something that everyone was comfortable with, and while normally that wouldn't be a problem, their little family of misfits often didn't agree on anything of this sort.

-0-

It all started with Mark, of course, because he was the most easily agitated of the group- coupled with Bruce, but you _never_ wanted those two in the same room when they were set off, that was just asking for a disaster to happen- with his fiery temper and bad habit of picking fights with any of his pack when he was agitated, upset, frustrated, or angered.

 _"I'll kill you!"_ Mark howled, after having shifted into his wolf form, his fur golden and fire red, the effect and the colors making it look as if his fur was on fire, matching his furious mood. _"I swear to fucking- Barton!"_

 _"Stay away you… you… monster!"_ Clint barked, panicked as he was chased by Mark, his own wolf form seemingly smaller in his fear.

 _"Mark!"_ Lionel whined, clinging to the back of the couch, claws digging into it in his own fear of the ex-shifter. _"Please calm down!"_

 _"I'll have your pelt to wear for winter!"_ Mark ignored the other shifter in favor of cornering Clint, pouncing on his prey and tearing at the assassin in his anger. Clint cried out and threw Mark off of him, scrambling away in terror. _"Clint!"_

"Mark I swear to whatever gods out there, if you touch a hair on Clint's head, I'll tear you apart myself!" Freya snarled, shifting into her wolf form the second Clint ducked behind her, her hackles raised and her fangs bared at the larger beta. _"I fucking dare you!"_

Mark growled and backed away a few steps, claws digging into the wooded floors and Lionel let out another whine, closing his eyes tightly, expecting Freya and Mark to attack each other, but he was immensely relieved when he heard the familiar commanding tone of their Pack Alpha as Steve came into the room, seeing all four wolves shifted and on edge. "What is going on in here?" he growled out, eyes narrowed and immediately Mark and Freya turned their heads towards him, both with their eyes wide, though Mark was the first to back off, the low growl stuck in his throat now.

Lionel shifted back first, still clinging to the back of the couch though and his ears lowered as his tail flicked back and forth agitatedly, "H-hi Alpha…" he swallowed hard and looked from the Alpha to the other three. "Clint… may have startled Mark to the point of angering him enough that Mark deemed it necessary to try and kill him." he piped up, voice carefully hiding any trace of fear he had previously felt and Clint whimpered, belly lowered to the ground, causing Freya to growl again at Mark, who decided it was best to not cause any trouble while their Alpha was present. That didn't stop him from sending a hateful glare towards the smaller brown wolf, a snort leaving him at the sight of Clint cowering behind the she-wolf.

"Mark," Steven growled dangerously, eyes flashing red and Mark finally shifted back, crouched down in a submissive stance, eyes cast downward.

"I'm sorry Alpha," he muttered, rolling his shoulders and he twitched when he saw Freya and Clint shifting back into their own human forms, Clint still cowering behind Freya, who was still in a very offensive stance, fists clenched at her hips and her eyes narrowed dangerously at the blonde beta.

Sighing, Steve nodded his head and looked between all of them, "It's… quite alright, I know we're all on edge. Clint, you should do well to remember that Mark can't smell you coming like the rest of us can and Mark, do well to remember that you are part of this pack whether you like it or not, and you can't be going around killing off anyone that angers you so. Apologize to each other and go your separate ways to allow the other time to cool off."

"Sorry…" Clint whispered, glancing at Mark before darting off, not giving Mark a chance to repeat the words back, no matter how fake they would have been. Mark had left the second Clint did, darting off back in the direction of the training room, no doubt aiming to spend his frustration and energy the only way he knew how.

Sighing again, Steve shared a look with Freya, who had calmed down considerably when Mark left, and Lionel, who had relaxed finally when the tension had drained from the room. The two only looked back at him with sad, knowing looks, understanding his worries.

-0-

It was only a matter of time before Thor made his frustrations known as well, having spent several nights out on long runs, worrying even Loki to the point that the trickster, Lionel, and Tony all went out looking for him one night, only to encounter several fallen trees outside their territory.

Following that, Bruce had nearly blown up himself at Tony and finally, after Steve, Lionel, and Clint all had to literally drag Bruce and Tony away from one another, Steve had had enough.

-0-

"This is getting ridiculous," Steve growled out, looking at his pack, where they sat in the livingroom, both Tony and Bruce still agitated, but at least they had the sense to look sheepish and apologetic when glancing back at their Alpha. "We are eventually going to end up tearing each other apart if we continue like this, and quite frankly, this tension between all of us even going to drive even _myself_ mad."

Everyone was quiet for a few moments before Pepper spoke up, hesitant, squirming with agitation herself, "What about a vacation? Something we could use to get out of here for just a little bit, get some… fresh air, so to speak?"

Snorting, Clint glanced back at her and frowned, "What like… a museum or something? Right, no chance of that. They don't usually let packs into places so public, remember? Especially packs with wolves that got superpowers." he muttered and Pepper frowned, ducking her head with a whimper and Natasha growled at Clint, causing the other to cower behind Bruce and the ex-mutant growled back at Natasha.

"Enough! This is exactly what I'm talking about," Steve barked, stance rigid and immediately Natasha and Bruce quieted their growls, both turning their attention to their Alpha. "Look, Pepper, what you're suggesting isn't a bad idea, but Clint is right. We can't go to a place like that… especially not while we're all high-strung right now."

"What about a park?" Lionel asked, perking up at the thought, and Tony snorted in laughter, immediately bringing a hand to his mouth to stifle it, but Lionel had heard it already and he frowned, ears lowered. "What's wrong with the park?" he asked, sounding dejected and Tony offered a small apologetic smile, before clearing his throat.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing is wrong with the park, except… uh, we're all adults here and there is nothing we'd be able to do at a park anyway." he tried to say in a straight voice, as if his reasoning was fair and his logic was sound, but even Loki had to agree that was a bit off; they were all dogs after all, even if some of them would like to pretend they didn't act like a puppy if given the chance to. Steve sighed and tilted his head, looking back and forth between the shifter and the rest of the pack.

"We'll figure something out, Lionel, we will," he said, before nodding his head at them, "in the mean time, try and relax until we can figure out where to go."

-0-

After that, they all tried to figure out what they could do for a simple vacation that allowed them the freedom to relax after everything that had happened, but even Lionel had to admit that trying to find something that everyone agreed to, well… that was a bit hard to do.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that Tony had finally let slip a surprise he was planning for the pack, that they began to get antsy, not with frustration or agitation, but with excitement and curiosity.

-0-

"Alright, we're in a fancy limo with the tag 'Stark Industries' on the back, driving to only the Gods know where," Clint started only to pause when Loki glared at him and he smiled sheepishly, "sorry, not you two, you're about as mortal as a God can get anyway…" he trailed off when Loki growled and Thor snorted in laughter.

"Right…" Mark dragged out the word before rolling his eyes and he turned his attention to Tony, "so I think Barton is asking, where the _fuck_ are you taking us?"

Tony growled under his breath, eye twitching, his arms crossed, leaning back against Steve as he answered dutifully, with a sharp edge, "You'll see when we get there now shut your trap or I'm going to make this limo pull over and I'll push you out of it so you can _walk_ all the way back _home_. Understand?"

Lionel, Loki, Pepper, and Freya let out little chuckles and giggles when Mark's face flamed up at the fact that he'd been told off, _kindly_ , by an omega, while Thor and Clint both roared with laughter. Natasha had her own little smirk on her face and Steve smiled, neither of the Alpha's uttering a sound at the obvious embarrassed anger Mark found himself feeling just then. This seemed to have cleared up the atmosphere though, as immediately conversation sparked up and they all relaxed as best as they were able to the entire ride there.

It wasn't until the limo driver stopped the car, announcing to 'Master Stark', that they were at their destination, and got out of said limo, that they realized where they were. Before them all stood a large iron gate, old and rusted, with several vines and flowers wrapped around the bars, connected to a tall brick wall that was surrounded by trees on both sides. "Where… where are we…?" Lionel breathed out, frowning, but in awe at the large gate.

Mark shot a skeptical look at Tony, who only smirked as he walked up to the gate, "You haven't brought us here to kill us and dispose of our bodies, have you? Because I'll have you know that I'm not about to give in without a fight, even if you _are_ the Pack Alpha's mate." he said, crossing his arms and he actually snickered when Tony shot him an annoyed glare in return, his muscles relaxing.

"Please, if I'd wanted to kill you all, I would've done it regardless of publicity or not." Tony said, before smirking again, "I'm smarter than this anyway, no one would be able to pin the crime on me if I _did_ happen to choose to murder you." Slightly unnerved by Tony's words, Mark only scrunched his nose up, as a few of his packmates laughed at him, before Tony grabbed out a set of keys.

"Tony… this is… a public park." Steve suddenly said, in realization, causing the others to look at him and he frowned at his lover. "Why are the gates to a public park closed? And why do you have the keys to said gates?"

Opening the gates, Tony paused before pushing them open, sighing softly as he ran his free hand through his hair, shrugging a shoulder limply, "I reserved it for us for the day. No one else is inside the gardens, not even the staff." he puffed out, cheeks heating up and all of a sudden, Lionel let out a happy little bark, leaping at Tony and hugging him tightly before darting through the gates, causing them to swing open and the others gasped when it revealed the beautiful gardens beyond them.

Flowers of all different colors- hyacinths, roses, tulips, daisies, chrysanthemums, snapdragons- were planted everywhere, trees- willows, oaks, pines, cherry trees- of all sorts were placed seemingly randomly around the park, hanging over walls- all shorter than the ones surrounding the park, but made of the same brick all the same- statues- of lions, horses, butterflies, foxes, birds- and benches- made of beautiful mahogany wood and painted a beautiful dark blue that matched the garden so perfectly. The sight of it all took their breath away, and as they all walked further into the gardens, exploring, they found a large building at the back, no doubt the museum telling of the area's historical value, and a beautifully carved stone fountain with water as clear as glass.

Immediately Freya, Natasha, and Pepper all made their way towards the rose gardens, cooing and chatting about anything and everything they could think about, enjoying the scents that surrounded them. Mark and Clint shifted into their wolf forms, racing each other through the gardens before ending in a wrestling match, both barking in laughter, the gardens around them making them feel more relaxed than they've felt in months. Bruce walked with Thor and Loki through the gardens, silent as they watched the others or looked at the flowers, marveling in their beauty. And Tony and Steve watched Lionel run around, shifting between several of his different forms- wolf, bear, hawk, fox, raptor- as if he didn't know which to stay as, both with a smile on their face.

"I thought you didn't like parks, love," Steve whispered teasingly, hugging Tony from behind and the omega shrugged, playing off the feeling that was caused by his inner wolf dancing in circles around his heart in glee and happiness.

"Yeah well… the park wasn't my idea, remember?" Tony said with a hidden smile, chuckling when Steve nuzzled his neck, grinning into his skin. "Besides, they all seem pretty happy. Who am I to take that away from them?"

"Yes, you're right," Steve hummed, glancing up to see Lionel, who had apparently settled in his wolf form, rolling in the grass and the wild flowers.

 _"Tony! Steve!"_ Lionel suddenly rolled over onto his stomach, tail wagging as he looked at the two wolves still by the garden entrances. _"Come on! You're missing out on all the fun!"_

With a grin, Tony looked back at Steve and winked at him, "Last one in gets to top tonight?" he suggested and Steve answered with a feral grin, shifting immediately into his wolf form and he darted off before Tony even had a chance to react. "W-what!? Wait! Steven! That's not fair- oh fuck it! _Steven Grant Rogers, when I catch you you're so gonna get it!"_ Tony barked out, having shifted right in the middle of his sentence before he chased after his mate, tackling Steve right as the Alpha reached the other omega and Lionel squealed in laughter before joining in the fun, tackling Tony and helping the Alpha get his small bit of revenge. _"Lionel you traitor! Get back here!"_


	5. Give

**Words:** 6,279

 **Rating:** T

 **Warnings:** Yaoi (Boy Love), light Yuri (Girl Love), tooth-aching fluff, major hurt/comfort, barely there angst.

 **Summary:** It's two weeks to Halloween... but it's also two weeks to a very special day that just so happens to be a certain young wolf's birthday. Unfortunately though, it's a day he doesn't like to remember...

 **A/N:** I am _really_ sorry for taking so long on this one... it took forever to write and it gave me such a hard time. But... I hope you're happy with it...? *smiles hopefully*

* * *

He gave his family _everything_ ; his heart, his mind, his soul, and on more than one occasion, nearly his life. He would do anything for those that gave him a home, a pack, and a _family_. But he never even understood that perhaps he gave a little _too_ much, and that perhaps, just _maybe_ , it was time for the pack to give a little back to him. Lionel never even saw it coming.

-0-

It was two weeks to Halloween and only a few members of the pack understood that significance; that it was a holiday of such greatness, rivaling that of Christmas or Easter. But only _four_ knew what Halloween really meant, because on October 31st, on the Eve of November, and the precipice of Autumn, it was Lionel's birthday. Freya, Clint, Drake, and the shifter himself knew this fact by heart, but only the shifter thought the day unnecessary aside from the fact that one could dress up and obtain candy- candy he was allergic to, but the gesture was there either way.

"Halloween?" Lionel blinked, ears twitching as he stared at Freya, Natasha, Clint, and Pepper. "You mean that holiday with costumes and candy?" he was barely able to get the sentence out without a hiss of pain when he felt his head jerk back, as Loki brushed through his hair.

"Sorry Leo," the God hummed and Lionel made a small noise in forgiveness, practically purring then when the brushes became gentle and Loki's fingers followed the brush.

"What?" Freya smiled at the youngest wolf, almost teasingly, "Did you think we were going to let the city over have all the fun without us?" she shared a look with Natasha as the other she-wolf smirked, her arms wrapped around Pepper.

"Not even Ultron would be able to keep my darling Pepper and I from enjoying this holiday," she stated in a low rumble and Lionel, Clint, Loki, and Pepper all flinched, causing Freya and Natasha to frown at them, both with worry and guilt. "Too soon?"

"Maybe just a little…" Lionel murmured, the memories still vivid in his mind and Clint nodded his head in agreement.

"Never mind that though, Tony said that there's a party, at one of the warehouses his company owns on Halloween. Everyone is allowed so long as they known someone at Stark Industries personality or Tony himself… which is unlikely of course, since he's spent all his time now with us, his pack." Clint waved his hands around to illustrate his point, a grin now on his face to replace the frown that'd been on it a few seconds earlier. "Anyway," he started again when Natasha snorted, urging him to get on with his point, "my point is that we're invited too, but we can only go if we've got costumes, you know?"

"So… what does that mean?" Lionel asked, letting his head tip back so Loki could tie all of it back in a braid and let out a little whimper when it pulled a little tight against his head, but didn't comment otherwise.

"What that means… Fluffy," Clint grinned cheekily at his little nickname used for Lionel, and the latter only huffed, pouting a little at it, "is that we get to go costume shopping later this week! _And_ with Tony's access to billions of money, we can practically get _any_ costume we want!"

"Personally, I don't understand this Midgardian holiday of yours, but…" Loki paused when Lionel turned back to him with puppy eyes, since the younger definitely didn't want to miss out on his first shopping trip related to Halloween, "I suppose it won't hurt to follow traditions just this once…" he amended and Lionel grinned, jumping up and hugging the other raven haired wolf, his braid and tail flicking with the motions and almost hitting Clint in the side and his legs.

"Oi! Watch your tail!" Clint growled mockingly and Lionel only laughed, ears and head ducked in a sheepish manner.

"Sorry…" he said, unaware as Clint and Freya shared secret looks behind his back.

-0-

"What are we going to do?" Clint whined and whimpered as he paced back and forth, in the living room, trying his hardest to keep his voice low, well aware the house was filled with other wolves and supers. But his panic and anxiety was getting the best of him, much to Freya's amusement and frustration. "Halloween is only two weeks away and… and…" he shot her a look of desperation and she sighed, nodding her head in understanding and knowing.

"His birthday, I know," she murmured back.

"And no doubt he's _forgotten_ which is ridiculous because anyone who forgets their birthday should be locked up because that's _insane_ …!" he flailed his arms out and she narrowed her eyes, a low growl forming in her throat, causing him to cower a little, turning pale blue eyes in her direction.

"Have _you_ forgotten the terms of his birth? Because I haven't and I'm pretty sure neither has he… which is _why_ he doesn't celebrate his birthday," she started off with her voice hard as a rock before lowering it, her entire demeanor softening when Clint let out a pitiful whine in return. "Maybe we shouldn't bother this year…" she said, after a few minutes of silence and Clint growled at her.

"No!" Flailing his arms out again, he starting pacing once more, "I'm not about to let him get away with ignoring the one day of the year that's the most important of his life! The reason he's even here with us now…" he trailed off here, and stopped moving for the third time since coming into the living room and finding Freya there. "That's it!" he shouted, grinning and whipping around to face the suddenly startled Freya, her blue-violet eyes wide.

They both jumped though, when Tony's voice suddenly floated through the room, the billionaire leaning casually against the archway leading into the living room. "Has Clint finally realized he lost his mind?" the wolf snickered and smirked when the two whipped around to stare at him, sheepish and anxious. His eyes narrowed then and he stepped into the room, head tilted, "Alright, come on, out with it. What's going on here? And what's this talk about a birthday coming up?"

Freya frowned and Clint grimaced, both sharing a similar look, knowing they were busted and instead of squirming around the subject, they came out right with it. "Lionel…" Freya started, sighing when Tony frowned, torn between looking eager and confused.

"Why the long faces then? Shouldn't we be _happy_ his birthday is coming up and put together a surprise for him?" he asked and Clint ducked his head, shaking it.

"No… because Lionel doesn't celebrate his birthday. Not since he escaped… the _Doctor_ …" Freya bit out and Tony sucked in a sharp breath before turning to Clint, who was tense.

"But… why were so excited before I came into the room?" And suddenly Clint perked up and he grinned away, looking at his two packmates.

"Lionel doesn't celebrate his birthday because of the conditions of his birth, right?" Both wolves nodded and Clint continued, urging them to see his reasoning. "So… all we need to do is _give_ him a reason to celebrate it! Make the day seem like the greatest of his life and prove to him that his birthday is important. That _he_ is important."

Tony grinned in return, as Clint and him saw Freya's smile, however reluctant it was and he clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Now all we need is a plan and… wait, when exactly is his birthday?" he asked, suddenly confused, and even more so when Clint and Freya shared identical grins, as wide as they could be. "What?"

-0-

It didn't take long for Tony to come up with a plan for Lionel's birthday surprise, after he got over the initial hilarity of Lionel's birthday being Halloween. He'd convinced Freya and Clint to tell the others, to let them in on his plans for the little wolf, knowing that they wouldn't spill the secret since all of them wanted to see Lionel _happy_ for once.

Lionel took care of them, now it was their turn to return the favor and take care of him. And he was none the wiser.

-0-

"Drake!" Lionel shouted happily, crimson eyes glittering with glee and love at seeing the older wolf, his mate, at the lake where he currently was.

Fully prepared to accept the hug that Lionel gave him, the younger wolf jumping into his arms, and he laughed, low and full of relief and love, pleased to find his mate still in one piece. "Hello to you too, my love, and how are we?"

"Amazing! I'm so glad you're here! I thought you weren't going to be-"

"-I was let off early, decided I'd come visit you," Drake interrupted with a little nuzzle, grinning when Lionel made a happy noise in the back of his throat. He really didn't want to ruin his good mood but, "They… want me to work on the week before and after… Halloween, Lionel," he murmured, nuzzling the other wolf when the happy noise turned into a whine of distress.

"B-but it's… t-that's not fair!" he whimpered, not wanting to let go of the other now, his arms tight now around him.

"Oh I know, love, I know… but… I have a surprise for you," Drake cooed, smiling when Lionel's ears perked up.

"A… a surprise…?" he asked, reluctant excitement glittering in his eyes, and Drake didn't even bother to hide the smirk at the adorable sight.

He nodded his head in answer and kissed the tip of Lionel's nose before stepping, reluctantly, out of his lover's tight hug, "Yes, now, come on," though he kept hold of Lionel's hand, pulling him in the direction back towards the city.

Intrigued and eager to spend more time with his mate, Lionel followed the other wolf, the cute little smile never leaving his face.

-0-

"Where are we going?" Lionel whined, pulling his famous 'puppy face' onto his lover, which Drake clearly ignored, knowing that if he did look, he'd give up the surprise before they actually got there. "Drake…!" the shifter whimpered, hugging Dake's arm now, nuzzling into the material of his jacket.

"You'll see, baby boy, we're almost there." he chuckled and then chanced a look down at his smaller lover, "In fact…" he added with a purr, adoring the look of confusion on Lionel's face, "I'll race you there," he finished in a light voice filled with laughter when he suddenly shifted, relishing in Lionel's bark of surprise and shock. _"Let's see if you can keep up, love!"_

"W-wait!" Lionel shifted too, his black fur blending well with the shadows left behind by the late afternoon sun. _"Drake!"_ Suddenly feeling light with his own laughter, Lionel raced after his mate, his paws light on the ground and barely making a sound. He caught up to Drake, making a jump past him with a bark of laughter when Drake growled playfully at him, making an equally playful nip at his tail when it nearly hit him in the snout.

 _"Not going to get away that easily, Leo!"_ Drake let out a howl, low and melodious, before tackling Lionel to the ground, both laughing, adrenaline in their veins and their eyes sparkling with their emotions, their bond as strong as ever as close as they were to each other.

As Lionel looked into Drake's eyes, seeing the love and light in their colorful depths, he realized he wasn't hurting, for the first time in a month and a half, because his mate was there, with Drake nuzzled him, Lionel nuzzled back, before they both got up and continued, side by side, the rest of the way to Lionel's surprise.

-0-

To say Lionel was surprised would be an understatement, because when he saw the place that Drake had led him to, he was absolutely bewildered and bubbling with excitement and delight. _"A fair!"_ he jumped up before tackling Drake, grinning at the older wolf when he only laughed at the visible excitement in the other. _"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"_

 _"Hold on, love! Wait until we get inside!"_ he chided, nuzzling Lionel before shifting back into his human form, waiting for Lionel to do the same, before offering his hand to the young shifter. Lionel nodded, a little sheepish, a blush coloring his striped cheeks, as accepted Drake's hand and let the other lead him into the fairgrounds.

All around them were humans and wolves alike, each enjoying the games, the shows, the rides, and the food available to them. Lionel was eager to do it _all_ , so long as Drake wanted to, too.

When they got their own bands, the ones that let them onto all of the rides, Lionel had dragged Drake to the rides easiest to get to, including a few roller coasters, a spinning cup ride, a bumper car ride, and- "Drake! Look! It's a scary tunnel! Can we _please_ go?" Lionel begged, pulling on Drake's jacket sleeves, eyes wide and bright and filled with childish delight.

"Sure you can handle the spooks in the dark?" Drake teased, giving Lionel a little eskimo kiss when the young shifter blushed, pouting at him.

"Drake…!"

"Okay okay, come on love, let's go then." Drake led Lionel to the spookified tunnel, snorting in amusement at the cheesy Halloween decorations. "You better be ready to visit the Haunted House later on, though, my little pup, because if I have to endure these cheesy kiddy decorations, you can endure the actual haunted horrors that this fair has to offer."

"Deal!" Lionel grinned cheekily, pecking Drake's cheek before climbing into the boat on the shallow river that led into the dark tunnel.

-0-

They walked through the entire fairgrounds, saw several shows, visited the zoo part of the fair to play with the dressed up farm animals, enjoyed the sugary delights the fair had to offer, and played several of the games around the area. "I love him!" Lionel giggled, hugging the stuffed black panther to his chest, nuzzling into the soft fur. "I'm going to name him Avalon!"

"You're welcome, baby boy," Drake chuckled, amused and fond of his lover's childish antics. "Are you ready to go to the Haunted House now?"

"And then we can go onto the Ferris wheel after, right?" Lionel perked up, looking at Drake and grinning when he nodded in answer. "Yes!"

They got up to the Haunted House, Drake paying for entry behind Lionel's back, and went into the monster house. Following their own path through the house, Lionel and Drake shared laughs and hushed whispers at the decorations and the actors that were admittedly really good at their jobs. They'd passed several teens in tears because of the men and women dressed as murderers and zombies and vampires and ghosts and werewolves.

Lionel jumped several times, clinging onto Drake most of the time, though he was bubbling with adrenaline and not from fear. Eventually the two decided to scare some of the others on their own, shifting into wolves and hiding in the dark. All the while keeping Avalon secure on his back, Lionel and his mate succeeded in scaring a total of only one person before they started goofing off, eventually being pushed along to one of the house exits by one of the 'monsters' inside where they started laughing before racing around to get rid of excess energy.

-0-

"It's so pretty…" Lionel whispered, eyes wide as he stared out at the disappearing sunset that shone over both the city and the forest.

"Yes," Drake chuckled, wrapping his arms around his mate, cooing when Lionel blushed, realizing the other was talking about him.

"I was talking about the sunset…" he pouted and Drake's chest rumbled in quiet laughter. "Jerk…"

"Don't pout love," Drake murmured, smiling then, "it is beautiful, you're right. But up here, with you in my arms, I only have eyes for one thing, baby boy, and that is you, my mate…" he cooed, pleased when Lionel's blush darkened, his ears lowering though his tail wrapped around both of them.

It was silent for a moment before Lionel spoke up again, sighing softly to himself, "I wish you can spend my birthday with me…" he whispered and Drake hummed, frowning to himself.

"What about your pack? Don't you have them to spend the day with?" he asked and Lionel tensed, ears flat against his head as he ducked it, burrowing against Drake's chest. "Love?"

"I… I don't… t-they don't… know…" his voice was muffled but Drake's eyes narrowed, having heard it anyway, and he pushed Lionel away from him. It was just a few inches, but the younger wolf whimpered at the loss anyway, not very happy.

"Lionel," Drake sighed, his voice stern and the shifter whined, shaking his head before groaning and he looked up at the roof of the carriage of the Ferris wheel.

"They don't know… and… they're not going to…" Lionel deflated, his shoulders slumping and his tail thumped lightly against the seat in slight agitation. "I… okay, look, Drake… it's not a big deal-"

"-Leo…"

"No, come on, it's really not," Lionel smiled weakly at his mate, cuddling against him again as he continued talking, feeling Drake's arms slowly wrap around him again. "I'm happy with them not knowing… it's… not an important thing anyway and… well… you only know because…" he trailed off then, grimacing at the thought of his nightmares and how, one day, years ago, Drake had witnessed a particularly horrifying nightmare on his birthday.

"It is important, baby boy… and do you know why?" Drake asked in a whisper, hugging Lionel to him, not bothered when Lionel whimpered at the continuation of the subject, his crimson eyes closing now. "Because on October 31st, nearly twenty two years ago… you were born. And that I am most thankful for, no matter the conditions or the reason, because you're here _now_ … in my arms and you have me, a _mate_ … and you have your pack." he finished in a whisper, kissing Lionel's forehead.

He made a noise in pain when he realized Lionel was crying and he only hugged the wolf tighter to him, trying to kiss the pain his mate felt away, his inner wolf howling in anger and hurt and sadness.

-0-

"Thank you…" Lionel whispered when they came back to the lake, hours later when the moon shone high above them, a sad smile on his face when he turned to face his mate and love.

"You're welcome, my love…" Drake murmured back, hugging Lionel and kissing him in answer to the visible hurt in his eyes.

"You want stay away too… t-too long this time… w-will you…?" Lionel whimpered, trying not to cry as his inner wolf was. His heart breaking at the thought that he won't be able to see Drake for another three weeks at least, their bond causing him to feel every emotion.

"I'll try not to," Drake answered, smiling sweetly at the younger wolf, stealing one last kiss before he had to go, "I _promise_ you at least that much."

-0-

"One week till Halloween~" Tony sang out, laughing 'evilly' to himself as he set up spooky decorations all over the mansion, with the help of Freya, Clint, Thor, and Steve, of course.

"Is the warehouse ready for the party, Tony?" Natasha asked, a grin on her face as she watched the omega string up fake bats everywhere.

"Duh," he snorted in answer, climbing down from the ladder with Steve's help with a smile, even though he grumbled about it. "The warehouse is decked up with the finest and most expensive spooky decorations and I have managed to get a hold of the greatest Halloween scarers to give everything a bit of… spice to it." he explained with a smirk, his usual cocky flair added to his voice to make it seem greater than it really was.

"And what about…?" Freya trailed off before looking around, not really sure where Lionel was, even as Tony answered, a frown on his face while he did so.

"It's all taken care of, don't worry. We just need to be sure we're there before he is… and we'll need someone to take him to the warehouse." he said, looking around too, blinking in sudden confusion. "Where is… Clint?"

"Never mind _him_ , where is Lionel?" Freya questioned, confused as well, sharing looks with both Tony and Steve before all three jumped when Clint's voice shouted out from seemingly nowhere-

"Ah! Bat!"

-before suddenly he and Lionel fell from the vents in the living room ceiling, landing in a heap on the floor behind the couch.

"...n-not a real bat…" Lionel whimpered, from under Clint, and the other wolf scrambled to get up.

"...oops."

"Uhm, what the hell is going on?" Tony scowled, not very pleased with the fact that the two made an indent in the carpet.

"I… think I can explain?" Clint frowned, shrugging slightly in his own confusion as he helped Lionel up, only to fall back down when Lionel didn't particularly want to get up, in a bit of a funk since Drake left again. Deciding to start his explanation on the ground now, he shot Lionel an exasperated look before turning his attention to the three towering over the two younger wolves. "O-okay uh… I was just lounging in the vents when I saw a uh… bat… and I panicked. I didn't actually realize that the bat was Lionel…" he looked embarrassed when he admitted this and while Tony snorted in laughter, Steve and Freya shot them both concerned and slightly scolding looks.

"Lionel…?" Freya murmured, turning her attention to the youngest of the five in the room and the wolf only sighed before shifting into a little black ferret, letting Steve pick him up without a noise.

"He's probably tired," the Alpha sighed, shaking his head before offering a smile to the other three. "I'll take him up to his room and then we can finish decorating."

"Yeah, of course, but this doesn't mean Lionel's getting out of costume shopping with me!" Tony huffed out, and Clint let out a little laugh, his mood lifting already as he started up a conversation with Freya about their costumes.

-0-

Six days till Halloween and Lionel had absolutely _no_ idea how they managed to find a shop full of costumes that they could pick out. Because realistically, aren't costumes supposed to be sold out by the time Halloween is around the corner? But, then again, this is _Tony_ he is going costume shopping with… oh and also-

"Tell me again, Anthony, why I am being dragged along with you and Leo for… costume… shopping…?" Loki frowned, looking at Tony shit-eating grin and Lionel's little, ghost of a smile.

"Because Lionel would feel more comfortable with you along. Besides, from what I hear from Thor, _you_ , my darling trickster, don't have a costume." Tony said in a slightly sing-song voice and Loki narrowed his eyes at the playboy.

"I am _not_ yours, Stark, and if you call me so again, I'm afraid even your status as Alpha's Mate won't help you from my… _tricks_ …" he threatened and Tony grinned at Loki in answer, though he did put Lionel between them, the shifter blinking in confusion before smiling a bit more genuinely at his two best friends.

"Of course not, you're Thor's little trickster!" Tony's laughter was heard all down the street as Loki growled at him, obviously upset, though a blush stained his cheeks at the words and when Lionel giggled at the two. "Oh look at that! We're here!" Tony called out, before ducking into a very colorful building.

Loki and Lionel had followed after him, only after Lionel spent a few minutes gaping at the obviously very expensive clothing store, and the first thought that hit them both was, "Tony? I may not be a Midgardian but… isn't a costume shop supposed to have… _costumes_ …?" Loki hissed at Tony who only flashed them a sharp grin, similar to the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland before disappearing behind a door hidden behind a tall cart of dresses.

"Gentlemen," he purred, the second that Lionel and Loki followed him and they froze, both gaping at the large warehouse in front of them that must have had thousands of different costumes, "allow me to introduce to you Stark Industries _personal_ costume shop."

"Amazing!" Lionel barked, laughing when his voice echoed and Tony snickered himself, nudging the trickster, well aware of the consequences, but Loki had only smirked when he saw Lionel dash towards a row of very colorful costumes that ranged from rainbow witches to neon colored animals. "Wah! They're so cute!" he continued to babble, running his fingers over several different furred costumes.

Tony's snicker died down and he smirked at Loki, who looked back at him, and the billionaire hummed, bowing and holding his hand out, "After you?"

-0-

"Tony! Loki! Look!" Lionel bounced up to the two, eyes wide and glittering, dressed in a slightly boy-ish version of the Little Red Riding Hood, with a slightly winter look to it given the large amount of fluff attached to the hem of the hood and the shirt that _wasn't_ a dress, no matter how much Tony thought it looked like one.

"Heh, Red Riding Hood meets the Big Bad Wolf." Tony snickered, earning a look of confusion from the God, and a giggle from the wolf in question, his ears lowering under the red hood in embarrassment.

"I… may not know anything about this… Red Riding Hood or this wolf, but, I do know that that costume is very becoming on you, Lionel," Loki said with a smile, chuckling when Lionel blushed but smiled in appreciation at the pleasing comment.

"Thanks!"

"Yeah, that's definitely the one for you," Tony chuckled and then nudged Loki again, "now if only we can get this picky bastard into a costume."

"Touch me again Stark and-"

"-yeah, yeah, you'll do something terrible. Lionel, come on, you can help me pick out Loki's costume." Tony smirked, looking Loki up and down as Lionel perked up at the thought, practically bouncing in his red boots, his tail flicking back and forth eagerly. "We're sure going to give Thor a sight come Halloween… not sure the big guys ever gonna let you out of your room after we're done with you!"

"Stark…!" Loki growled out, eyes narrowed, as Tony practically skipped away, leaving Lionel to drag Loki along with him.

-0-

"I'm going to kill you Stark…" Loki growled.

"Don't get your panties in a twist," Tony snickered.

"I think you look amazing!" Lionel piped up.

Loki blushed.

Tony collapsed onto the floor in laughter.

-0-

It was finally Halloween, and the pack was gathered in the livingroom, all but Lionel, ready to go to the party. "Okay, so I have a limo waiting to take us to the warehouse once we reach the main street, past the border of the forest. My driver will take us to the warehouse while another limo will be waiting to take you, Clint, and Lionel to the warehouse a half an hour later." Tony- who was, not surprisingly, wearing a devil costume, complete with red horns, a pair of red leather wings, and a spaded tail- puffed out his chest, particularly proud of his plan and Clint- wearing a Sherlock Holmes costume, in favor of playing into Bruce's favorite mystery character, while Bruce himself was John Watson, the doctor- chuckled in answer.

"This is going to be the best Halloween ever," he grinned cheekily, looking at the others, catching the eyes of Freya- her black witch costume matching her flair and spirit- and Steve- his pure white angel costume, complete with the halo and large white feathered wings, matching Tony's devil costume- and he made a pleased noise when Bruce, his mate, nuzzled him in answer, agreeing silently with him.

"What makes it all worth it though…" Loki- in a tight, sparkly golden Egyptian Goddess costume that somewhat matched Thor's own Egyptian God costume- started, as honest as he's ever been now, as he looked to Thor, taking the other God's hand in his own and he hummed when the larger male smiled at him, "will be the smile that Lionel will wear at the start of this event and at the end of it."

"Wow, who knew you were such a girl?" Tony barked in laughter, ducking behind Steve just in time to avoid a tv remote being thrown at his head, which then crashed against the wall. "Jarvis?"

"I will have a carpenter in by tomorrow morning to have the wall fixed, sir," Jarvis answered and Tony grinned, satisfied. "And sir, may I inform you that Master Lionel is-" Jarvis cut himself off with this sentence and the room became deathly silent.

"Understood Jarvis… Clint-"

"Y-yeah…" Clint whimpered, before clearing his throat and he looked at his mate, standing up from his seat, stealing a little kiss before nodding to the others. "Go to the party… be… be ready for us. I'll… go wake him up."

-0-

Clint frowned as he looked at Lionel, curled up and trembling in his bed, "Oh Lionel…" he whimpered and crept over to Lionel's bed, "Jarvis, can you…?"

"Of course," Jarvis made the pitch black room a little brighter and Lionel's ears twitched at the change, though he wasn't pulled fully out of his nightmare.

"Leo…?" Clint called out, sitting on the edge of the bed, reaching over to shake Lionel's shoulder lightly. Immediately Lionel woke at the touch, drawing in a sharp gasp and his eyes flew open the second before he shifted, turning into a snake and turning on the one that startled him awake. "Whoa, hold on! It's me, your bro, Clint!" Clint rushed out, the words stealing his breath as Lionel hissed at him, crimson eyes wild before they suddenly widened and he shifted again, this time into a little black rabbit that trembled and made whimpering little noises. "Lionel…"

Clint picked the shifter up, cuddling him up against his chest, nuzzling into his fur and stroking his ears against his head, doing everything he knew how to do to calm Lionel down.

-0-

Clint hummed as he straightened Lionel's outfit, helping him out, "You okay now?" he asked and Lionel sniffled, offering a watery smile, nodding his head.

"T-thank you Clint…" he made a pleased noise in the back of his throat, "I couldn't have asked for a better… well… brother, I guess…" he added with a little laugh, eyes twinkling when he got a grin from the other.

"Good," he cooed, nuzzling Lionel's cheek before stepping back and he pulled Lionel's red hood up on the outfit. "You look… awesome…" he breathed out, grinning toothily and Lionel turned around, matching the grin.

"So do you! I didn't take you for the Sherlock Holmes type," Lionel teased and Clint barely let a blush cross his cheeks at the knowing comment.

"Bruce likes him so…"

"And who is Brucie?" Lionel laughed when Clint's blush darkened, though he grinned himself at recalling the memory of getting bruce into his own costume. "Ooh, didn't take you to be a Johnlock shipper, Clint~"

"Ah, I never said he dressed as John!"

"Mhn… _but_ … you didn't deny it?" Lionel smirked, taking Clint's hand and leading him out of his room, and out of the mansion. "Now, don't we have a uh… what was it? A _limo_ to catch?" He shook his head with a wry smile, mentally laughing at Tony's dramatic flair when it comes to making entrances that are memorable.

"Indeed," Clint nuzzled Lionel's cheek again before shifting into a wolf, very mindful of the costume, and Lionel followed suit, crimson eyes sparkling as they raced, from their territory to the forest's edge.

-0-

"You're nervous."

"...no, of course not."

"Leo…"

"Okay, yes, I'm nervous… but, I can't help it."

"Don't worry… everything is going to be fine. It's only a party."

"A party full of strangers…"

"...your pack will be there… Tony, Loki, Freya… the Alpha… _me_ …"

"And I couldn't be more grateful that it's _you_ here with me, Clint… on today of all days…"

"...I know. I know…"

-0-

When the limo stopped, coming in front of the warehouse, Lionel and Clint got out, the two omega's side by side, Lionel's arm looped with Clint's.

They heard the music first, soft coming from the wide open double doors of the warehouse, and then the decorations came into view, followed by the sight of the people lingering outside.

Lionel only noticed the banner hanging over head, in traditional Halloween colors with a splash of red mixed in, that read 'Happy Birthday, Lionel' a second too late.

"Surprise!"

And he just… froze.

-0-

Crimson eyes were wide as he stared at his friends and family and his _pack_ and his Alpha, all of them wearing grins and smiles and all of them wishing him a happy birthday.

The tears came before he could stop them and he choked on them, hands coming up to his mouth as his laughter mixed with his sobs.

"H-how…?" he turned towards Clint and the wolf looked a little sheepish, and a little guilty, as he and Freya caught each other's gaze, telling Lionel in silent words that they were responsible for telling the others about how _special_ the day was. To them, not just him, not matter what he always said about it.

"We're not sorry, Lionel…" Clint spoke up, putting a hand on Lionel's shoulder, "because we don't care that you think today isn't so grand… Because well… the truth is, it _is_. Today is special because twenty two years ago, on this very day, you were… you were born and I, _we_ , couldn't be more thankful. Without that one special event, none of this would be possible… because you wouldn't be here to make it possible…"

Clint braced himself for something negative, but he should have _known_ … and he did, the second that Lionel grinned, and hugged him as tight as his strength would allow without crushing Clint in the process, and shouted to all the others his thanks.

There was music and laughter and games and food and it couldn't have been more perfect. Natasha- in her very fancy and very kick-ass vampire costume- and Pepper- in a costume that was definitely made for her, of a cat- both wished him a happy birthday before Natasha dragged her mate off to the dance floor. And even Logan- looking gruff and resigned, fitted into a Naval Officer costume- and Remy- in a sassy pirate outfit- were there, both wishing him a happy birthday and a happy Halloween as well. And he returned the gesture, laughing when, after he asked about their costumes, Remy exclaimed how he managed to get Logan to agree to a theme that was a sort of forbidden love type theme.

He didn't tell them how the words pulled at his heart, and his bond with his mate, letting them go off on their merry way, though he knew Logan was probably waiting for the night to get over with so he could drag Remy, who was probably going to be very drunk by the end of the night, back to their own little home who knows where.

Mark- who had been in a mummy costume- was somewhere, though as the night wore on, Lionel had forgotten where, and by the time most of the party goers were drunk, save a few who were designated drivers _and_ those who couldn't get drunk- like himself, Steve, Thor, Loki, and Logan as well- Lionel's fun mood had dissipated a little, though he kept on a smile for appearances sake.

"I think Little Red suits you," Lionel jumped at the very familiar voice and whipped around, eyes wide, staring at a tall man wearing a very heavy magician's costume, complete with a long black cape, a black top hat, and a mask that hid everything on his face except his lips and his eyes- colored green with flecks of gold, and swirls of blue and red.

"Y-you… b-but I… I th-thought…" choked up, Lionel couldn't even form words, his heart strings pulled tight before suddenly releasing the tension themselves when the stranger- who really wasn't a stranger at all- took his hand, kissing the back of it.

"Will you dance with me?" he asked instead, rather than explaining to Lionel the answers to his no doubt many questions.

And for once, Lionel didn't voice those questions, instead grinning a silly little lovestruck grin, accepting the offer of a dance.

The stranger led him out to the dance floor and they danced until long past midnight, but if Lionel was honest?

He _really_ didn't care.

-0-

The next morning, Lionel was humming happily in the kitchen as his pack, save Steve, who was making pancakes for everyone, all dragged themselves into the kitchen for their daily morning rituals. "Good morning!" he chirped, jumping up onto the counters, hugging his little stuffed black panther to his chest and nuzzling its head, "Thank you all so much for yesterday! It was the _best_ birthday I've ever had!"

Tony, Loki, Freya, and Clint all shared a look, each feeling just a little lighter than they'd felt in weeks. And they all had only one thing on their mind: Mission Accomplished.


End file.
